Fairytale Fusion
by toribelle615
Summary: All of Disney's greatest love stories retold - GrimmIchi style.
1. Still Waters - Part One

**Summary:** Dissatisfied with life as a merman and hopelessly in love with a certain human prince, Ichigo makes a dangerous deal with the Sea Demon, trading his voice for a pair of legs. Based on Disney's _The Little Mermaid._

**Warnings: **AU, yaoi, GrimmIchi, some one-sided ShiroIchi, language, a little violence, mature and sexual content.

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Bleach, The Little Mermaid, or any of their characters.

* * *

**_.:Still Waters:._  
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**_~Part One~_**

* * *

Over the course of history man has always been fascinated with the ocean, the seven seas something to be conquered and explored. This curiosity stems from the human race's fear of and attraction to the unknown, for what was ever so mysterious and uncharted as those deep blue fathoms and what might be hidden within them. The luring power of the ocean is so great that no one has ever considered the possibility that while we wish to discover its secrets there just might be something or _someone_ underneath the surface, staring back up at us and longing to do the same.

We begin our story on a perfect day to be at sea, the kind of day when the waves are gentle and smooth and the breeze is light and in our favor. A day when the clouds are a calm gray and shade us from the sun as a flock of seagulls soar down to the water's surface to greet four bottlenose dolphins that have surfaced for air. They squawk and chatter at each other until the looming shadow of a hulking ship appears, the white birds flapping their wings to fly overhead and the dolphins diving back under the waves in order to make way for the vessel's wooden hull.

Aboard the three mast schooner was the infamous, blue-haired Prince Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, a man of twenty one years and a wild virility despite his royal status. He was at the ship's bow, grinning broadly and holding onto one of the ropes as the wind blew through his mane and wrinkled his white shirt. Beside him was his exotic pet, an albino Savannah cat named Pantera who towered over other domestic felines, her head easily reaching the prince's thigh when standing on all fours. However, right then she was on her hind legs, front paws resting on the banister and predatorily eyeing the silvery fish leaping in and out of the water.

Ten feet down from Grimmjow was another man, an older brunette dressed in fine clothes more suited for a dinner party and currently slumped over the railing. When he wasn't green-faced and dry heaving, Aizen served as the prince's main advisor, which he had faithfully done ever since the king and queen passed away several years ago.

"Ain't this great, Aizen?" Grimmjow called to his elder, smirking devilishly. "The salty sea air, the wind blowing in your face - a perfect day to be at sea!"

"Oh, yes," Aizen said, straightening up and glancing over at his charge, clearly unamused. "Delightful." Then with that, he was doubled over once again, retching miserably.

"Ay, a fine strong wind and a following sea!" a creaky voice cried out, the blunette looking over to an ancient, one-eyed seaman wearing a navy and white striped shirt and a bandana on his head and sorting through a net full of the day's catch. "King Isshin must be in a friendly type mood."

"King Isshin?" Grimmjow said, arching a brow and deciding to entertain the obviously senile crew member.

"Why, ruler of the merpeople, lad," the sailor said, grinning to show off a mouth missing half its teeth. "Thought every good sailor knew about him."

"_Merpeople_," Aizen scoffed, turning away from the banister and looking disapprovingly at the elderly man. "Grimmjow, pay no attention to this nauticalnonsense."

"But it ain't nonsense, it's the truth!" the one-eyed, gray-haired sailor insisted fervently, gripping one still flopping fish by the tail and advancing on the prince's advisor. Shaking the fish in the other man's direction, he continued on passionately. "I'm tellin' you, down in the depths o' the ocean they _live_!" He gestured frantically with the thrashing fish that slipped out of his grip, fins flapping in Aizen's face before plummeting over the side of the ship and into the sea. Once under the water, the fish sighed in relief and swam away, leaving a trail of bubbles behind.

Deep down below the clear blue waters, fields of emerald green seaweed gave way to the vibrant, colorful coral reefs where a school of striped fish trailed through clusters of brightly hued anemones and sea cucumbers. Hovering above there were a mass of quivering jelly fish, their delicate tentacles swaying softly, and beyond them on the ocean floor were two blue whales, a mother and her baby gliding alongside each other, ripples of light dancing along their dark blue backs. And further still were the most magical creatures of the sea, swimming gracefully within a breathtaking underwater metropolis of towers made from shimmering, golden coral that could be seen sparkling from miles away - the home of the merpeople. But the real jewel was a magnificent structure at its center, the grand palace, where the royal family lived. It was also now where all of the mermen and mermaids converged, for today was a feast day.

The palace's great hall was packed, the entire population of merpeople filing into the space inside a circle of massive pillars. At the northernmost point of the hall was the king's throne, an opulent seat high above the crowd and carved in the shape of an open clamshell. To its right was a smaller version a few feet lower and to its left were two versions side by side and smaller still, all four seats vacant.

At the eastern end of the hall, separate from the buzzing audience, was a petite mermaid with shoulder-length, midnight black hair, fair skin, and big violet eyes, her seashells lavender to match the side and end fins on her indigo-scaled fish tail. Currently chewing her nails down to the cuticles and pacing the double doors of the private corridor she swam in front of, Rukia was the picture of anxiety. It was almost time for the celebration to begin and he _still _wasn't here - the king would have her broiled, shish kabob-ed, and served with a wedge of lemon! She was the 'responsible' one whom he himself had told her in confidence that he trusted the mermaid to help keep his impetuous, headstrong son in line - a herculean task for anyone in the entire ocean.

To her horror, that was when a line of sashed fish assembled before her and trumpeted the official start of the festivities. Rukia darted to the side and clear of the colossal doors that were now opening, an orange seahorse wearing a ruffled collar trailing through them. Heart made heavier by apprehension and dismay, it sank down to her stomach once she realized all she could do now was watch the disaster about to enfold.

"Ahem," the seahorse cleared his throat and the last of the chatter amongst the crowd died out, everyone giving their full attention to him. "His Royal Highness, King Isshin!" he announced, applause and cheers ringing throughout the palatial hall as a chariot pulled by three dolphins sailed through the open doors, its rider a muscular, dark-haired merman bedecked with a golden crown and trident. King Isshin smiled and waved to his subjects while his aquatic steeds carried him over to his throne.

"And Their Graces Princess Yuzu and Princess Karin!" the seahorse proclaimed, a similar, dolphin-powered chariot flying out into the hall much faster than the one before due to a young mermaid with a ponytail of dark hair like her father's being in control of the reins. Her twin sister was unfazed, graciously greeting the throng of merpeople as expected of a princess, and also differed from her sibling in coloring, her hair several shades a lighter brown and fashioned into two short pigtails. Once they reached their own identical thrones they took their place by the king, looking to the side corridor for the last member of their royal family and from her position at the edge of the crowd Rukia clasped her hands together, wringing them furiously.

"And finally, His Majesty Prince Ichigo!"

One could have heard a bubble pop in the silence that followed, all of the palace guests gazing expectantly at the open doorway and growing increasingly confused when not so much as a krill appeared in the portal. Unable to resist peeking at King Isshin, Rukia cringed at the stern expression on the merman's face, his anger simmering heatedly underneath his composure.

Ichigo had better be lying dead in a reef somewhere or she would kill him herself.

* * *

A mile or so outside the city walls in an area known as Shipwreck Cove, the missing merman was quite the opposite.

The name of the place, an abandoned underwater boneyard littered with sunken ships, was rather appropriate and it was completely void of life save for the two souls by a splintered, broken mast gazing out over the forbidden area. One was a seven-foot long shark of undetermined species, its hide a rare scarlet red patterned with jagged ebony stripes and equipped with rows of razor sharp teeth.

Beside him was the prince of the merpeople, Ichigo, who was best known for his vibrant mane of shaggy, golden tangerine locks that brushed his shoulders and his 'strange' pastime of disappearing for long stretches of time. No one knew exactly where it was the merman went on these mysterious trips except for his constant companion, Renji, and he liked it that way. Poseidon knows what would happen should anyone else find out.

Freshly seventeen, Ichigo had warm, dark amber eyes and an ebony scaled tail, his side and end fins bright crimson. Around his neck was his customary choker made of blackened shark teeth he'd found over the years and slung over his shoulder was a small, plain satchel he never left home without. Presently his arms were folded on the beam of the detached mast, chin resting atop them and expression soft in wonder while he stared at the potential treasure chest yet to be explored.

"There it is," he said. "Isn't it fantastic?"

"Yeah, sure... it's great," Renji agreed lukewarmly from beside him, not finding the same allure in Shipwreck Cove as the orangette did. "Now let's go." The shark began to swim away, but Ichigo caught him by his dorsal fin and smirked up at him in mild amusement.

"Not getting cold fins now, are ya?" the merman teased, chuckling when Renji broke away from his hold and scowled at him with narrowed eyes.

"_No_," the latter spat. "I just don't get why we have to search another sunken ship when you already have whatever's in there. In fact, I think it's time for anew hobby."

"Fine," Ichigo sighed, swimming up and around the decrepit mast and waving at his friend dismissively. "I'm going inside, you can stay here and... watch for sharks or something." The teen shot forward through the open water, descending upon the closest shipwreck. After a moment's deliberation, Renji huffed and raced after him, unable to ignore the fact that carnivorous sharks did tend to inhabit such places and if he stayed behind Ichigo would be on his own against the beasts.

They sped across the space between them and the hull of the ghost ship, closing in on a porthole on the side. Ichigo swam right up to it, prying the glass window open and then slipping inside easily. Renji followed his actions, his body fitting through the opening until he was brought to a sudden halt, stuck halfway in and out of the porthole. "Ichigo, I can't... augh..." he groaned, the other turning around and eyes widening once he saw the shark's predicament. "Ichigo, help!"

Clasping a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, Ichigo retreated back to where Renji was squirming around and grabbed his side fins, pulling them toward him using all his strength. A few seconds later, the poor creature slid free with a pop and immediately fixed the chortling orange-haired youth with a deadpan expression. Neither one of them noticed the menacing silhouette that drifted across the porthole.

"It's really not that funny," Renji said monotonously.

"Oh, don't be such a guppy," Ichigo replied, rolling his eyes and gliding away and further inside the dilapidated vessel, passing through an opening in the wooden board to the floor beneath them. He felt his lips part in delighted awe at the vast array of foreign objects and trinkets that lay there, unable to look in one direction for even a moment since there was just so much to discover and he began flitting from place to place.

"I'm not a guppy," Renji grumbled, casting a glance at the ship's contents. "Yeah, this is just great - excitement, adventure, danger lurking around every corner. This is not anything like the countless other shipwrecks we've been to, not at all."

Ichigo was deaf to the shark's sarcasm, especially when he stumbled upon something he'd never seen before sticking out from in between two warped floorboards - a little metal stick with three spikes, two straight one bent, at the end. He dashed over to the new find and gingerly picked it up, inspecting the object. "Look at this," he whispered breathlessly. "Have you ever seen anything like it?"

Renji peered over the merman's shoulder at the supposed cause for wonder and awe. "Wow," he said, his enthusiasm a bit lacking. "Er, what is it?"

"I don't know," Ichigo admitted, shrugging his shoulders and shoving the metal stick into his satchel. "But I bet Urahara will."

Just then, in the paned window behind them a fearsome shadow coasted by, unseen by either of the two. "Did you hear that?" Renji asked, uncertain if he even had, but his companion's attention was totally focused elsewhere, the teen flying up to a ceiling beam where he spied another interesting discovery. Lifting the unfamiliar object made of wood, Ichigo discerned its odd shape as a palm-sized cylinder that curved out and up from its base, thinning gradually to the other, much smaller end.

"Hmm, I wonder what this one is," he said, mind racing with ideas whilst he turned the artifact every which way.

"Ichigo..." came Renji's concerned voice from a few feet away, making him sigh in exasperation.

"Will you relax? Nothing is going to happen," he assured his friend, never looking away from the most recent addition to his collection. However, when the window's glass shattered into a million pieces as the Great White that had been stalking them opened wide and tore through it with hundreds of deadly sharp teeth Ichigo immediately took that back.

Stunned, the orangette gaped at the monstrous creature, frozen to the spot. It was only when Renji crashed into him that he was knocked against the wall and back to his senses in time to see the massive shark chomping his way through the wooden ship toward them. Kicking a nearby table at the thing's face with his fin, Ichigo pitched himself across the hull and up through the opening, Renji right behind him.

Shooting out of the portal, they swam for a few seconds until the Great White's gaping maw surged from below, broken pieces of wood flying everywhere. Whirling around and heading straight for the porthole they'd used to enter, Ichigo pushed Renji in front of him and, ramming against the red shark, forced the latter outside. He raced after the other, their pursuer's gnashing teeth barely missing his tail fin and a moment later bursting through the hull.

Swimming for his life, Ichigo spotted an antiquated, enormous anchor in the corner of his eye and thought of a plan. Grabbing onto Renji's fin, he urged his friend to follow him toward the huge metal entity and led them in a direct path to the circular ring at the top of the anchor. They flew through the ring and, as planned, the Great White barreled after them and attempted to do the same but, unfortunately for him, he'd packed on a bit too much blubber over the season and his pursuit was brought to a screeching halt as he got stuck not even halfway through. The shark thrashed and bared his teeth, all to no avail, and Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Huh, not bad," Renji mused beside him.

"Thanks," the merman said, kicking his tail and propelling himself upward. "Come on, let's go before it gets too late."

* * *

The two of them swam higher and higher until they reached the one place they were forbidden above all others to go. If anyone ever found out they made regular trips to the surface it would be disastrous. But nothing could stop Ichigo from swimming to the outlawed place, he was utterly addicted to that moment when he broke through the ocean's waves and took his first breath of fresh air. And this time was no different, that gasping lungful just as sweet as he rose above the watery barrier between the two worlds.

Renji's head popped up a second later and they automatically began heading toward a lone, sandy slab of rock protruding from the surface to form a tiny island. This island's sole inhabitant happened to be an eccentric seagull named Urahara who always wore a green and white striped hat that somehow fit him perfectly. Yet, despite all of his quirks, he was still Ichigo's go-to guy when it came to humans and their curious culture.

Currently, Urahara was reclining in a little nest he made at the top of the rock and humming to himself while he scanned the surrounding area with a telescope... backwards. Once he spied a familiar head of orange hair off in the distance, the seagull instantly sat up, hearing his name being called by said orangette.

"Ah, merman off the port bow!" he shouted. "Ichigo, how are you this lovely afternoon?" Urahara lowered the telescope and hopped down from his nest, surprised to see his two visitors now right in front of him. "My, what a swim."

Ichigo smiled good-naturedly at the oddball and decided to cut to the chase, reaching inside his satchel and pulling out the first item he'd discovered on the shipwreck. "Urahara, look what we found," he said and held out the spiky metal stick for inspection, the excitement in his voice impossible to hide.

"Human stuff, hm? Here, let me see," the seagull said, plucking the object out of the youth's hand with one wing and squinting at it close up. "Look at_ this_," Urahara murmured, holding the stick up to the sky. "Now this is very special, yes, _very_ unusual."

"What is it?" Ichigo asked eagerly, leaning forward.

"It's a dinglehopper. Humans use these little babies to straighten their hair out. Watch and observe," Urahara declared, removing his hat and lifting the 'dinglehopper' to the tip of his head and twirling the spikes into his crown of feathers. "Just a little twirl here and a yank there and... _voila_! You have yourself an aesthetically pleasing configuration of hair that humans go nuts over." As he dictated Urahara had done and now tugged the dinglehopper free, his feathers fluffed up like there was a sea anemone on his head.

"A dinglehopper," Ichigo repeated reverently, taking the object back from the seagull and looking at it in a whole new light now that he knew what it was.

"What about that other thing you found?" Renji said and the merman hurried to open his satchel, trading the dinglehopper for his second find of the day, to which Urahara, upon seeing it, gasped theatrically.

"Ah, this I haven't seen in years... this is wonderful!" he proclaimed, holding it up on display like a rare jewel. "A banded, bulbous... _snarfblat._"

"A banded what?" Renji questioned warily, clearly having trouble believing the seagull's explanation.

"Yes, the snarfblat dates back to prehistoric times when people used to sit around and stare at each other all day - got very boring. So, they invented the snarfblat to create fine music during celebrations and whatnot. Allow me." Urahara lifted the instrument's stemmed end to his beak and blew into it, sand and seaweed bursting out of the other end instead of any musical sound.

"Celebration?" Ichigo cried out all of a sudden, his face falling as realization struck him. "Damn it, the feast! My dad's gonna kill me!" He grabbed the snarfblat out of Urahara's grasp and stuffed it into his satchel, ice cold dread washing over him.

"The feast was today?" Renji said, alarmed, but the teen didn't answer him.

"I'm sorry, I've gotta go," he said hurriedly to Urahara. "Thanks for your help."

"Anytime, Ichigo, anytime," the seagull said casually, putting his striped hat back on and waving goodbye as the other two dived back beneath the surface.

Barreling through the open waters, Ichigo couldn't swim fast enough, cursing himself in his head for being so careless and forgetting something so important. Not only would he surely have to face his father's wrath but this could've been the time when the king found out about_ everything_, and that couldn't happen, not ever.

Undetected by the merman and the shark were two hammerheads lurking in the shadows, watching them with one eye each, black and gold melding together to form a perfect view of the swimming orangette - a view appearing within a floating orb and seen by someone not even there but in a cave of warped, spinous coral in the darkest parts of the sea.

"Yes, hurry home, my prince. Wouldn' wanna miss dear ol' daddy's celebration, now would we?" a distorted, silvery voice cooed from beyond the orb's illuminating glow inside that cave, its owner slowly slithering into the light. A pair of eyes whose irises burned like rings of molten fire against seas of the deepest obsidian were visible first, then a flawless, snow white face and long locks the palest ivory that glittered brightly in the murky waters. "Ha, if ya can even call it tha'. Now back when I lived in tha palace we 'ad some real_ fun_."

A toned, porcelain torso slipped into the unnatural beam of light, a black pendant emblazoned with a skull dangling in the center of a defined collarbone, and finally a tail covered in luminescently colorless scales, translucent, jagged fins a glossy midnight. "An' oh how I wish I could show ya wha' I mean," the voice whispered wistfully, ghosting an alabaster, ebony-nailed hand over the orb almost tenderly. "No matter, I'll give ya somethin' ta _celebrate_ soon enough... Getsuga, Tenshou!"

At the beckoning call the two hammerhead sharks instantly swam into the mouth of the cave and to that dusky chamber, parting so they could hover on either side of their master. "I wan' ya ta keep a close watch on this pretty lil' thing. Look but don' touch, ya understand?" Bizarre eyes staring intently at the enticing picture of the orange-haired prince's lovely face, the eerie voice chuckled wickedly. "He's _mine_."

* * *

An hour later, Ichigo was in the palace's great hall before the king's throne and not particularly happy to know he'd been right to fear coming home and facing his father after screwing up so royally. Renji was to his right and a few feet back but the scarlet shark could've been in the Arctic Sea for all the king seemed to care, his friend's presence not doing anything to lessen his chastisement.

"I just don't know what we're going to do with you, my son," Isshin was saying as he looked down on his eldest child with his chin in one hand while he shook his head for the nth time, his tone both angry and disappointed.

"Dad, I'm sorry, I just forgot, I -" Ichigo tried to explain himself yet again and, just like all his previous endeavours, he was cut off.

"Apologies are not acceptable from a future king, Ichigo! You must learn that every action you take will have consequences that no amount of 'I'm sorry's' will ever undo. As a result of your careless behaviour, the entire celebration was ruined for our entire kingdom! What do you have to say to that?" Isshin implored him, unrelenting, and before the teen could open his mouth to respond, Renji rushed to interject, dashing forward.

"It wasn't his fault," he insisted. Ichigo's eyes widened and he repressed the urge to clap his hands over the shark's mouth for Renji was known to every once in awhile speak without thinking beforehand in situations like these. "We... ran into a little trouble."

"Trouble? What happened?" Isshin demanded, frowning slightly as he leaned forward in anticipation of the answer yet didn't wait for it to jump to conclusions, albeit right ones. "You went up to the surface again, didn't you?" he seethed, his rising ire simmering behind his dark eyes and making his trident glow brighter. "DIDN'T YOU?"

At hearing his father yell at him, a rare occasion, Ichigo actually flinched and he knew it was of no use to even try denying it. "Nothing... happened," he said in a meek voice most unlike him, gazing at his crimson tail fin to avoid the disapproving eyes of his sire that made him feel about two feet tall.

"Ichigo, how many times must we go through this?" Isshin barked furiously, his fist slamming down on the arm of his throne and again sending a surge of power through his trident. "You could've been seen by one of those barbarians - by one of those humans!"

"Dad, they're not barbarians!" Ichigo shouted forcefully before he knew what he was doing, the comparison having struck a chord deep within him so strongly he'd reacted on pure instinct alone. He didn't show his surprise, however, not breaking eye contact with his sire.

"They're dangerous," the sea king said steadily, his voice unnervingly even. "Do you think I want to see my only son snared by some fish-eater's hook?

"I'm seventeen years old, I'm not a child anymore," the youth professed in a commanding tone befitting a future monarch, hoping his equally stubborn father would see that it was true but not expecting him to.

"Don't take that tone of voice with me, young man. As long as you live under my ocean, you'll obey by my rules!" Isshin decreed with an overwhelming sense of finality, driving the tip of his pointer finger against the arm of his throne as he spoke.

"But if you would just listen-" Ichigo started as he lifted his hands beseechingly, hardened exterior cracking and letting his desperation to be heard and understood by the older merman seep into his voice. His father never listened to him, never took him or his opinions seriously, and it was beyond frustrating. That was why he had to keep so much of his life hidden from his own dad, who couldn't ever discover his biggest secret of all even when it pained him to treat his greatest treasure like it was something to be ashamed of.

"Not. Another. Word." Isshin harshly cut him off, his expression fierce - jaw clenched, lips pressed together, nostrils flaring, and eyes blazing. "And I am never, NEVER, to hear of you going to the surface again. Is that clear?"

Ichigo didn't bother with a response, unable to form a coherent sentence with all of the anger and resentment and hurt storming through him. After glaring accusingly at his father for a few more seconds, he whipped around and swam out of the great hall as fast as he could, fists clenched by his sides. He was vaguely aware of Renji following him but he didn't much feel like saying anything to anyone right then.

He was just so tired of trying to get through to Isshin; the merman would never understand him or his beliefs about the world above the surface. No one down there underwater really did anyway, only him.

Ichigo had just passed between the coral pillars when he heard a voice off to the side hiss his name and paused, his head automatically turning in its direction. His eyes narrowed, scanning the area until he spotted a glint of lavender and promptly recognized it as the seashells of a certain petite mermaid. Quirking a brow, he glanced over his shoulder at Renji, who did a shark's imitation of a shrug, and then ambled to where said mermaid was beckoning him over.

"You wouldn't be hiding from my father, would you, Rukia?" Ichigo said teasingly, circling around the small brunette and dodging her vicious backhand, a minute, knowing smile appearing on his lips for a fleeting second.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have to if you'd listened to me the _hundred_ times I told you today was a feast day," Rukia snapped, hands resting on her hips. "Now it's my tail on the line because you were off gallivanting about doing... whatever it is you do."

"Please, my dad loves you," Ichigo scoffed, folding his arms. "He'll probably apologize for any distress I caused you with my 'reckless behaviour'."

"I think you should be the one doing that, _Your Majesty_. Do you know what I go through covering for you all the time during your little disappearing acts? " Rukia quipped, pointing a finger in the orangette's face until she abruptly rounded on an unsuspecting Renji. "And you, you're just as bad, encouraging him. I mean, I knew sharks had brains the size of krill shrimp but don't you have so much as a lick of common sense?"

"Yeah, you're one to talk about tiny body parts," Renji retorted, not missing a beat. "How do your seashells even stay up?" Rukia's face turned bright red, steam practically shooting out from her ears and nostrils, and she shot forward so that she was an inch away from the shark. Ichigo sighed heavily, getting ready to bear witness to another one of their infamous shouting matches. Believe it or not, this was actually a pretty common occurrence, there was nothing those two loved to do more than argue endlessly with each other for hours on end.

"You're almost as repulsive as your breath, you know that? What in the seven seas do you eat - rotten kelp and barnacles?"

"More like annoying little mermaids like you," Renji growled, baring his sharp teeth that Rukia didn't even flinch at. "And it's almost dinner time."

Seeing that this was going nowhere fast, Ichigo left the other two to their regularly scheduled bickering, arching backwards into a series of flips that propelled him farther and farther through the water. However, he hadn't gotten more than twenty yards when Renji and Rukia saw him swimming away from the corner of their eyes and fell silent, heads swiveling in his direction. "See ya, small fry," the shark laughed, tearing after the black-tailed merman and leaving a cloud of bubbles that flew directly into Rukia's face, the mermaid irritatedly waving them away.

Staring at the silhouettes of the two males growing smaller in the distance, she had to admit to herself she was dying to know where it was they went on their clandestine trips. Up until now she'd done her best to respect Ichigo's privacy and somehow suppressed the burning curiosity. But... didn't she have a right to at least have an idea what it was she covered his tail for? And if Ichigo wasn't even aware she knew, then what was the harm in taking a little peek? Biting her lip, Rukia made her decision and, after looking around guiltily, she kicked her tail fin and sped off in pursuit.

She followed the oblivious pair at a safe distance outside the city limits and to the expansive coral reef just beyond, almost losing them in the various twists and turns they made in the maze of sculptured coral. Finally she saw Ichigo and Renji stop in front of a large rock formation, dashing into a cluster of seaweed for cover. Rukia felt her eyebrows rise and her jaw drop as she witnessed Ichigo roll a small boulder aside, revealing a secret entrance to a grotto she could see was filled with shelves holding all kinds of strange artifacts.

After Renji slipped inside, Ichigo did the same and the boulder moved back into place. Rukia waited a good minute that seemed like an hour and cautiously approached the hidden passageway, daring to press right up against the rock's surface so she could peer through an open sliver in the upper right corner. A silent gasp escaped her throat, now seeing clearly inside and unable to believe her own eyes. She'd expected to see something she didn't approve of, but this... this was_ bad_.

Meanwhile in the grotto, Ichigo coasted up the dozens of circular shelves lining the walls all the way to an opening at the very top that allowed rays of moonlight to filter through from the surface. They were all completely covered in the collection he'd amassed over years of exploring and gathering, something he used to look at and swell with pride and satisfaction but... lately it just didn't feel like it was enough. And sometimes his cave full of other worldly treasures was only a cruel reminder of what he would never have.

"Hey, at least, no matter what, he can never take this stuff away from you," Renji said in an attempt to console him as he placed the dinglehopper on a stand with two other similar metal instruments, brushing his thumb along the smooth handle for a moment.

"If I could just make him _understand_," Ichigo said, swirling back down in circles along the grotto walls until he was beside where one of his favorite pieces - a miniature pair of humans holding each other in a graceful pose atop an ornately decorated box - rested on the shelf ledge. He lifted his hand to the side of the box and carefully turned the little key a few times, letting go so that the pair of lovers began spinning around and a delicate, sweet melody started to play. "I can't see things the way he does. I can't see how a world that makes things like this could be bad."

The orangette listened to the pretty and somehow sad tune, watching the dancers rotate atop the stand wistfully. "Besides, all of the whatzits and thingamabobs in the sea can't make up for the real thing," he said softly, smiling bitterly. "What I wouldn't give to spend one _day_ up there, to walk with my own pair of legs just once in my life. If I could know for even a single moment what it's like to be part of that world, I..." Ichigo trailed off, frustrated with himself for rambling on about something that wasn't even possible.

Silence fell upon the grotto, lasting a minute or two at most before a murky silhouette crossed overhead, dimming the space for a few seconds as it passed. Ichigo gazed up at the opening above them and felt his breath hitch when he saw stars created from colorful sparks bursting around the dark shape. "What in Poseidon's name is that?" he heard Renji nearly shout below him.

"Come on," the orangette insisted ardently, already soaring up toward the strange lights. He stopped just short of the portal in the grotto's ceiling, shooting an expectant look at his friend. "Don't you want to find out what it is?" he asked, pleased when Renji took the bait and quickly ascended to join him.

Still stationed in front of the secret entrance, Rukia watched in horror as they made their way to the unidentified sailing object and bright flares of light. Had they completely lost their minds? Or perhaps recently developed a deathwish? Because those were the only plausible reasons they would do something so blatantly life-threatening. And if the king ever found out about this... Rukia listed to the side as she grew faint at the mere thought.

Amidst the rolling waves of the ocean's surface, Ichigo rose out of the water so that only his eyes were visible, his excitement making them glitter like stars. He barely realized Renji had also surfaced, enraptured by the wondrous vision he couldn't believe he was fortunate enough to witness so close up.

It seemed that the colorful blasts lighting up the night sky around the three mast ship were supposed to honor some occasion the humans aboard the vessel were celebrating, the merman able to hear their merry music and laughter. Without thinking twice about it, Ichigo shot further up in the air so his waist was at water level and used his arms to paddle closer to the ship until he reached the side of the rocking hull. Laying a hand on the damp wood, his blood sang with the rush of euphoria at doing something he'd thought impossible.

The heat of the moment supplying him all the bravery he could ever need, Ichigo spotted a ladder carved onto the hull that led to a passageway cut out of the banister for easy access to the deck and grabbed ahold of the first step. He swiftly climbed the entire height of the ship, lifting himself out of the water completely, and stopping right below the ledge. Then, he cautiously moved himself higher the tiniest bit so that his fingers and eyes were level with the floor of the deck.

Taking in the cheerful sight he was greeted by, Ichigo's gaze swept across the similarly clothed human men dancing and playing instruments he'd never seen before to make music. Subconsciously he allowed his whole head to rise over the ledge so he could get a better view, wondering what the humans were celebrating.

Suddenly, as if out of thin air, there was a soft thud as a blur of white jumped from overhead and landed on the deck directly in front of him. Ichigo had to bite his bottom lip to stifle the startled yelp in reaction to the surprise arrival of an unfamiliar, furry creature who stood on four legs and had triangular ears and a long tail that swished back and forth. He kept perfectly still under the animal's eerily intelligent gaze and when its whiskered face leaned forward until their noses were practically touching. Then a rough, pink tongue darted out and licked his cheek, the ticklish sensation making him choke back a peal of laughter.

"Pantera, c'mere girl," sounded a voice unlike any Ichigo had ever heard; husky, melodic, and undeniably masculine. The white creature whirled around and padded across the deck, apparently heeding that call, and the teen followed its path to the one with the alluring voice, his breath hitching.

Ichigo hadn't known someone could be so beautiful that it was somehow terrifying. As he laid eyes upon the human, his chest tightened unbearably and breathing was almost impossible. The man was sculpted into the image of virile perfection, tall, broad-shouldered, and muscled in all the right places, his skin bronzed from the sun. He had a face meant to break hearts, his ruggedly handsome features a defined, strong jawline, sharp, perfectly straight nose, angular cheekbones, and full lips - absolutely devastating. His tousled hair was the color of the morning sky, blindingly blue, and even at this distance Ichigo could see the man's jewel-like, glittering sapphire eyes. The man was dressed in a white shirt whose collared neckline showed off a tantalizing glimpse of tan flesh and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, the fabric on his legs light gray, and his foot apparel reaching mid-calf and fashioned out of a black, textured material.

The white animal who'd licked the orangette bounded playfully around the blue-haired man, stopping in front of him and reared back on its hind legs, resting its front two on his thighs. The man then lowered a hand to the side of his pet's head and scratched behind its ears affectionately.

"Hey there, Ichigo!" a familiar voice shouted from the sky, Ichigo snapping his narrowed, vehement gaze to a certain seagull soaring toward his hiding place.

"Shut up, they'll hear you!" the merman hissed through his teeth, shooing the bird away and turning back to face the ship and its appealing cargo.

"Ah, I get it," Urahara said suggestively, flapping his wings and perching beside Ichigo so he could also have a front row seat to the show the young merman was so clearly enjoying. "See something you like, do you?"

"I've never seen a human this close before," Ichigo confessed, his heart aching painfully as he watched the strikingly good-looking man entertain his animal companion who preened under his attention. "He's... fascinating," he sighed, unaware he'd actually spoken his thoughts aloud.

"Yes, he is quite _fascinating_," Urahara agreed, waggling his non-existent eyebrows at the youth who was in another world entirely, his dreamy, hooded eyes and blissful smile were telltale symptoms of a sudden onset case of lovesickness. It would've been obvious to the blind how far gone Ichigo was.

"Silence, silence," another male voice called out, this one mild as a spring afternoon and yet easily commanded the attention of the other humans on board. The musical din died out, everyone deferring to the speaker - an attractive, brown-haired man whose clothes appeared much more formal than everyone else's. "It is now my honour and privilege to present our esteemed Prince Grimmjow with a very special, very expensive, birthday present," the brunette announced, gesturing to where something enormous was veiled by a heavy brown canvas and wrapped in a colossal red bow.

"_Grimmjow_..." the name fell from Ichigo's lips in a soft breath, a thrill coursing through the orangette at the simple pleasure of just knowing it.

"Aizen, y'old son of a gun, you shouldn't have," the blue-haired prince said in his deep, rumbling voice, clapping a large hand on his advisor's shoulder and nearly knocking the man over. Leaving Aizen to regain his balance, Grimmjow strode over to his gigantic birthday present while one of the sailors scampered up to promptly remove its coverings, the canvas slipping off and revealing a fifteen foot tall statue of... himself.

His statue self was bedecked in full royal regalia befitting a prince who lived two or three centuries ago - puffy sleeves, drawn sword, cape, the whole nine yards - and he was posed standing with one foot atop a crest bearing the letter G in calligraphy style and a fist over his heart. A chorus of snickers and chortles burst out from the crew, Grimmjow's lip curled and his thin, blue brows creased together, his reaction to the thing mimicked by Pantera who growled and hissed at it furiously.

"Happy twenty-first birthday, Grimmjow," Aizen said, staring approvingly up at his handiwork.

"Yea', it's... it's really _somethin_'," the blunette forced out, unable to say anything else as he was truly at a loss for words, a rare event for the free spoken man. He was vaguely aware of the crew returning to their own devices, spurring his longtime advisor to cross the distance between them, coming up beside him.

"Yes, I commissioned it myself. Of course, I had hoped it would be a _wedding _present... " Aizen trailed off and as soon as he said the 'w' word Grimmjow visibly bristled. Sneering in vexation that this subject was being brought up yet again, he immediately turned on his heel and began walking away. His escape route ended up leading him to the opening in the banister currently occupied by two unknown stowaways. Acting quickly, Ichigo grabbed Urahara by the beak and rolled them into the safety of the shadows. A moment later he released the struggling bird and slowly swiveled his dark amber orbs up to the side where not five feet from him, Grimmjow leaned his forearms on the railing and looked out at the sea.

"Don't start with that bullshit, again," he warned the advancing brunette, his tone menacing and had it had been anyone else but Aizen they would've immediately obeyed.

"Grimmjow, it isn't me alone," Aizen insisted, not even sparing his charge the pain of another lecture on his birthday. "The entire kingdom wants to see you happily settled down with the right person."

"Yea', well I haven't found 'em yet, savvy?" Grimmjow grumbled, refusing to meet the other's gaze behind him.

"Perhaps you aren't looking hard enough," Aizen suggested and the blunette rolled his eyes, repressing the urge to throw the older man overboard.

"'ey, when I see 'em, I'll know. It'll hit me like lightning or somethin'," the prince said and the instant the words left his mouth a blazing bolt of lightning struck in the distance, illuminating the swelling waves and the blanket of treacherous, dark gray storm clouds that proclaimed the arrival of a powerful storm. Roaring thunder rumbled deafeningly and rain began to pour from the sky, violent winds filling the mainsails and thrusting the ship on a course of its own volition.

"Hurricane a-comin'!" a shipmate declared from his position within the crows nest, his hands gripping the protective wooden railing for all their worth as the sea vessel roiled on the turbulent waves. "Stand fast, men! Secure the riggin'!"

Grimmjow and the rest of the mariners needed no further instruction, and quickly set about their individual tasks, the twenty strong crew tearing across the deck in chaotic fashion as fear and panic began to seep in. Although each man knew where he should be and precisely what he should be doing – ensuring that their efforts banded together for maximum efficiency – it was much easier said than done when Mother Nature was so apparently livid.

With enough men having made the hazardous climb up the mainmast to secure the sails, Grimmjow stayed on deck with the rest of his men, teal locks drenched and whipping about his face as he grit his teeth and pulled the rigging taut. Amongst all the bedlam and alarm, Pantera found herself jostled from side to side by both man and wave, her sharp claws finding little to no purchase in the rain-slicked wood as she keened and mewled for her master.

Below, upon the frothing surface of the ocean, the scene was no better. Large, angry waves crested high and crashed hard into each other, constantly submerging a cursing Renji beneath the water whilst strong currents dragged Rukia, whom had surfaced shortly before the formidable storm broke, further and further away from her charge.

Back on the hull, Ichigo and Urahara were also clinging against the ship for dear life, the icy rain and furious rocking of the ship giving rise to gooseflesh all over Ichigo's naked torso and ruffling more than a few of the seagull's feathers. As was the prince's luck of late, the tempest took a dramatic turn for the worse; the searing flashes of lightening and clamorous thunder seemingly much closer than before, the raging waves mounting to frankly terrifying heights, and the winds picking up momentum, mutating from blustery to gale force.

Bracing himself against the platform on which he sat, Ichigo could do nothing but watch as Urahara was literally swept off of his webbed feet by the whirlwinds, the lightweight gull only just barely managing to anchor himself on a length of rope hanging just beyond the orangette's shoulder.

"Yare, yare! The wind's all of a sudden on the move!" Urahara exclaimed, trying his damndest to hold on but a second longer. "Oh, my…" Feeling the elements getting the better of him, Urahara struggled fervently to keep his grip on the rope, but it all proved for naught as a particularly fierce gust loosed his grasp and sent him spiraling high up into the air, his swift departure marked with a flurry of feathers and the shrill cry of, "Ichigo!"

At the helm of the ship, the laboring captain, an aging seadog whose strength and prowess had long since seen better days, suddenly lost control of the large wooden wheel, a weary grunt escaping his lips as it was wrenched from his clutches and knocked him several feet back. With the steering disabled, the ship veered violently to the right, the bow taking a nosedive over the edge of a bloated wave and allowing for another to crest up and heave over the starboard side, easily sweeping several shipmates right off their feet.

Ignoring the screaming and yelling erupting from all sides around him, Grimmjow made for the helm, stopping just short of the wheel and carefully picking his timing to grab hold of the flailing handles. A furious burst of lightening highlighted his features for nary a moment, though if one just so happened to look, they would see pearly white teeth bore in grim determination, wild teal tresses and a sodden white shirt beating against sun bronzed skin, and thin blue-tinted brows knotted together under physical duress. Though, even at such a young and healthy age, the virile prince was really striving to keep the enormous vessel on a straight and steady course. He would be damned if he gave up, however, being the tenacious and headstrong man that he was. Come hell or high water, he would see every single member of his devoted crew out of this.

Meanwhile, Ichigo felt his own strength waning. When the ship peaked on the very apex of a frankly colossal swell, he was thrown back and off of the platform he'd done well to remain seated on for so long, attempting desperately to brace himself on the very same rope that Urahara had used earlier. He couldn't quite explain it, even to himself, but he just had to hold on. He needed to be close to Grimmjow, to make sure he was okay and to help in any way that he could should the occasion arise. He couldn't leave the man to fend for himself, not when the human was up against such unpredictable forces of nature… He could get seriously hurt!

In spite of his very best efforts, Ichigo was simply no match against Mother Nature, her passionate and lawless temperament proving too powerful as the orange-haired merman was jerked from his hold and sent tumbling mercilessly into the dark, frigid waters many feet below. Plummeting far beneath the surface, Ichigo swiftly righted himself and launched back up, breaking through the surf and now facing the ship's stern. Amber eyes widened in a mix of horror and morbid awe as a crackling fork of luminous lightening tore from the ashen clouds, striking with deadly accuracy the mainsail, the synthetic material igniting and bursting into flames almost immediately after impact.

Being the intrepid, curious soul that he was, Ichigo had oftentimes wondered what fire was like; what it looked like, how it moved, smelled, felt… but at this precise moment in time, he could honestly say he felt nothing but sheer terror at the mere sight of it – as did Grimmjow and his men, if the frenzied yells and general hysteria was anything to go by.

Momentarily stunned by the sudden blaze rapidly spreading between the sails and licking down the masts, Grimmjow refocused his attention ahead just in time to see that they were sailing straight for a jagged rock structure jutting out of the ocean. With no time to react before the inevitable and devastating collision, Grimmjow did the only thing he could do at this point; warn his crew.

"Look out!" he bellowed, his masculine baritone cutting through the roaring thunder and carrying to the few sailors at the bow, giving them time enough to scurry across the deck.

The glorious ship smashed with a sickening crunch of splintering wood into the rocks, the force of impact sparing no one as Grimmjow, Aizen, and their entire crew went barreling over the edge and plunged into the icy seawater. Gasping for air and struggling to keep himself afloat, Aizen caught sight of the prince's birthday gift being swallowed by the murky currents and, pride be damned, made to swim after the grand statue before it was forever lost to Davy Jones' locker. His efforts were in vain however, when a commanding voice called out to him moments before a large, work callused hand grasped the back of his saturated coat.

"Oi, Aizen! Hang on!"

Hoisting the brunette up into the small rowboat a few of the men had managed to commandeer before the storm had raged completely out of control, Grimmjow give the elder man a few harsh pats on the back, forcing up what little seawater he'd accidentally gulped down when he first hit the frigid waves. About to ask his trusted advisor if he was feeling alright, the young prince instead found his entire focus drawn back to the burning wreckage of his vessel upon hearing the distressed yowling of his beloved pet. Sapphire pools immediately spotted the frightened feline standing on the upper decking of the bow, his heart leaping into his throat and a worried crease etching onto his forehead.

"Pantera!"

Without so much as a pause to even consider the consequences of such a reckless action, Grimmjow leapt from the rowboat, executing a perfect dive and leaving Aizen and the others to look on in shocked apprehension. Heavy, waterlogged clothes and the torrential rain that was beginning to feel like searing needles against his skin made the climb back up to the deck quite difficult, but Grimmjow persevered, fuelled alone by the absolute necessity to get his treasured Pantera to safety. Most would call him some very choice things if they knew he'd risked his life for an animal, but Grimmjow seriously couldn't care less about the haters. To him, Pantera was more than a simple animal, a devoted pet, she was family – and for that, the blunette would do anything.

Vaulting over the thick wooden banister and onto the deck, Grimmjow made a move toward the mewling feline, only to freeze in his tracks when he heard an ominous creaking come from somewhere behind him. Whipping round, he barely had time to duck and roll out of harms way when the mainmast, still burning and crackling, fractured around the middle and came hammering down, smashing straight through the wooden flooring the blunette had been standing on mere seconds beforehand. Thinking he was more or less in the clear now, Grimmjow ventured on toward his pet, completely unawares that the fire had now spread into the storage compartment of the vessel where they kept arms, food, booze… and barrels upon barrels of gunpowder.

Aware that there was no way up with all of the fragmented debris and scorching walls of fire blocking his path, Grimmjow positioned himself as close as he possibly could below where Pantera stood and threw out his arms, beseeching her to bite back her fear and come to him.

"Jump, Pan!" he pleaded, trying not to let the desperation he felt on the inside bleed into his tone. "C'mon girl, jump! You can do it, baby!"

Hesitating for only a brief second, Pantera put all of her trust and faith into her master and did as she was told, bravely leaping from the platform and into strong, burly arms. With little more than a burdened grunt upon the initial catch, Grimmjow quickly but cautiously carried the trembling feline back toward the edge of the ship and their awaiting rescue. Unpredicted by either one of them, the board beneath Grimmjow's boot gave out with no warning, the blunette acting fast and using the momentum to quickly toss Pantera over the side of the railing. Grimmjow cringed when he heard the poor cat's startled mewl on the way down, but didn't exactly have the luxury of time to dwell on it and instead set to work on grappling with his trapped foot, tugging heartily at his leg as he tried to free himself.

Aizen was laboriously hauling a thoroughly drenched Pantera into the rowboat when he noticed that the blue-haired prince was not right behind her as he'd expected. Glancing up, chocolate toned eyes bugged out of their sockets when they caught sight of Grimmjow's perilous predicament.

"Grimmjow!" he called, sapphire pools painted with worry looking down on him an instant before a cataclysmic explosion roared out for the heavens to hear and lit up the atmosphere in fiery shades of red, yellow, and orange.

Aizen and the men gave a collective gasp, every single on of their expressions tainted with dread, but none looked quite as horrified as the orange-haired merman who had also witnessed the terrifying detonation.

Heart racing furiously against his ribs, Ichigo reared back at the initial blast and swallowed hard. He had never, in all his seventeen years of life, seen an explosion before, let alone been so close to one. His ears were ringing, his vision dancing with spots of white, and his stomach churning, feeling about as heavy as a manatee. How in all the seven seas was any living being supposed to survive something like that? And that's when the realization hit him… Oh gods, Grimmjow!

With a harsh dose of reality, Ichigo quickly scrambled forward, diving under the surface and re-emerging closer to the burning remnants of a once imposing and beautifully crafted ship. Flaming chunks of rubble rained down all around him, hitting the water with an audible sizzle as he guardedly picked his way through all the floating fragments of wood, sail, rope and even a barrel or two that were somehow still intact.

Amber eyes, large due to a potent fusion of adrenaline and panic, wildly scanned over the wreckage, the orangette's hands shaking as he sifted every goddamn inch of the waters surface in search of the missing prince, of the man who had so effortlessly stolen his heart. Frantically turning this way and that, he finally spied of a flash of shocking teal blue in his peripheral, the color a striking contrast to the usually crystalline clear hue of the ocean that was now a dark and frothy grey.

Grimmjow was rapidly losing consciousness – firsthand experience with highly volatile gunpowder will do that to a man – and was using the last of his depleting strength to hold onto the small plank of wood currently keeping him from a watery grave. As his eyes slipped closed and the muzzy darkness clouding his mind completely consumed him, his numbing fingertips lost all power and he promptly blacked out, weary fatigue and a possible concussion winning the battle over his debilitated body.

Ichigo watched as the blue-haired prince passed out, no longer possessing the awareness to even try and keep himself adrift as his muscular body slipped off of the plank and sank into the murky depths. Not stopping to think of the inevitable ramifications, Ichigo immediately pitched after the blunette, his tail thrashing madly through the chilly water as he propelled himself toward the sinking prince. There was no time to pause and admire the fact that he was actually touching the man of his desires as he wrapped lean arms around Grimmjow's broad chest to stop his descent, hefting the larger male back up toward the surface with one arm locked under his armpit and the other helping to paddle them back to fresh air.

Breaking through the watery barrier between their two worlds, Ichigo painstakingly began swimming away from the disastrous ruins of the blazing vessel, his attention so intensely focused on the blunette that when the remaining fireworks onboard started illuminating the skies in pretty, fluorescent shades of red, blue and yellow, he didn't even bat an eye.

He had to get Grimmjow to safety, and he wouldn't let a single damn thing stand in his way.

* * *

Shortly after sunrise found Ichigo exhausted and lying on the slowly warming sands of a small beach alcove. He'd used the very last reserves of his strength to successfully haul both himself and the still unconscious Grimmjow on to the sandy shoreline, but his ever growing concern for the handsome blunette wouldn't give him even a second of reprieve. Leaning over the blunette, Ichigo felt his heart drop like a stone at the man's unresponsiveness. Was it too late? Did he not make it to the shore on time? Poseidon help him; what was he supposed to do?

A high-pitched squawk announced the sudden arrival of Urahara, the flamboyant gull having followed the merman's grueling trek across the sea. Coming in to land by the blunette's head, he felt his gut twisting wretchedly at the devastated demeanor of Ichigo as the sea prince cradled the human's head with one hand and laid the other over a seemingly unmoving chest.

"Is he… dead?" Ichigo asked, his voice cracking due to weariness and dismay of the possible answer.

Prying Grimmjow's left eyelids open for reasons unknown to the nervous merman, Urahara sighed. "It's hard to say." Biting at his thumbnail, Ichigo watched as the gull ambled down to Grimmjow's now bare feet, the man's boots having fallen off somewhere along their journey. Hoisting up the right leg, Urahara pressed the sole of Grimmjow's foot to his ear, listening intently for a few moments, before his face fell and he shook his head somberly. "Oh my, I… I can't make out a heartbeat."

Ichigo balked at the news. No heartbeat? So that meant… Oh no, it couldn't be… He couldn't be… Slight movement caught Ichigo's full attention, and he felt relief swelling in his heart as he noticed the subtle rise and fall of Grimmjow's sculpted chest.

"No, look! He's breathing." Allowing a small, grateful smile to touch his lips, Ichigo gazed down upon the living prince, tenderly brushing a rebellious bang of teal hair away from his forehead. Not aware he was even speaking out loud anymore, let alone that he still had an audience, Ichigo breathed out a wistful, "He's so handsome."

Dipping his head so that rascally grey eyes were shaded under the brim of his hat, Urahara decided to leave well enough alone, keeping his beak shut as Ichigo lost himself to the alluring call of his washed up affections.

Laying his palm flat against Grimmjow's lightly stubbled cheek, Ichigo gently turned the man's face toward him, amber eyes shining with warmth and an undeniable fondness in spite of not knowing that the beautiful stranger even existed until a scant few hours ago.

"What I wouldn't give to live where you are," he told the inanimate Grimmjow, his fingertips tracing lovingly over his strong jaw and knuckles brushing tenderly over his cheek. "What I wouldn't pay to stay here beside you, to see you smiling at me…"

Unbeknownst to the awestruck Ichigo, a humble wave rolled and broke against the shore, bringing with it a dazed Renji and a fatigued Rukia, the two sea creatures having spent the majority of the night scouring the ocean for the elusive orangette. After the almighty explosion, both had been sick with worry, fretting that perhaps Ichigo had been caught in the blast and was laying bleeding out on the seabed somewhere. To find the young prince not only in perfect health, but crooning all over the blue-haired sailor, was both an immense comfort and a startling revelation.

Rukia's jaw dropped in stupefied astonishment; she was literally gaping like a fish out of water. Urahara, who had quietly sidled up beside her, used a feathered wing to snap her mouth shut again, pronouncing, "It's most unladylike to gawk so ardently, Miss Kuchiki."

Back on the sandy beach, Ichigo continued with his monologue, his excitement and the sheer pleasure of being close enough to establish skin-on-skin contact with the blunette giving him a bad case of loose tongue syndrome.

"If I was a human, if I had legs and could walk and run like you do, I wonder where we would go. We could spend all day in the sun together, just you and me…" As if answering his innermost wishes, a warming ray of glittering sunshine suddenly burst through the early morning clouds, showering both merman and human in a pool of golden light.

The almost ethereal glow stirred Grimmjow from the dark recesses of his comatose state, his brows furrowing and eyes clenching as he tried to piece himself back together again. Where was he? Why did his mouth taste of salt, his nostrils burn with the smell of sulfur and his head pound like Pantera had knocked him through a brick wall?

Taking a brief mental catalogue of everything that hurt – which was just about every damn bone and muscle in his body – Grimmjow gingerly came back to himself, and that's when he heard it; another voice murmuring somewhere above him. The tone was as smooth as silk and as sweet as honey, Grimmjow discerning from the pleasing tenor that it was most definitely masculine. Thinking that he would rather like to put a face to the exquisitely beguiling voice, Grimmjow arduously cracked his eyes open, shimmering pools of sapphire squinting against the intense sunlight spilling over his features.

Delicately reaching up with his left hand, he laid it upon the satiny soft skin of the hand caressing the side of his face, a intoxicated grin tilting his lips as his bleary vision slowly began to clear, revealing the most beautiful being he had ever laid eyes upon. Although shadowed slightly from the blazing aura of heavenly sunshine, Grimmjow could make out gorgeous orbs of glittering amber gazing back at him, full lips of carnation pink parted in a dazzling smile, and a fiery halo of… was that _orange_ hair?

"Just you and me, Grimmjow," the bewitching voice was humming pleasantly to him. The disorientated Grimmjow had no idea what this enchanting man was talking about, and yet found himself agreeing internally regardless. "Then I could be part of your world."

An animated series of loud mewings broke the spellbinding trance between the two males, Ichigo whipping his head up to see that great white cat bounding over the sands towards them. Left with no other option, the orangette took one last longing look at the wakening Grimmjow before reluctantly tearing away from his side and scarpering back into the welcoming embrace of the deep blue.

After a loving lick to her master's face – she had spent all night practically molting with stress – Pantera turned slitted blue eyes toward the ocean, catching a parting glimpse of black and crimson scales disappearing under the surf.

"Grimmjow? Grimmjow!" Moments later, Aizen appeared from around the corner, the elder man rushing to the blunette's aid as he tried to sit himself up. Hooking his hands under the younger's armpits, he helped haul him back onto his feet. "Dear boy, you really delight in these sadistic strains on my blood pressure, don't you?"

Staggering unsteadily, Grimmjow ran a callused hand through his hair, shaking away the cobwebs mussing up his brain. "There was a man… he rescued me. He was lyin' over me, talkin' to me…" Stumbling his way closer to the shore, he gave a dramatic sigh. "Gods, Aizen. He had the most beautiful voice, like the call of a siren."

A sudden head rush from regaining mobility too quickly had Grimmjow fighting to remain upright as he swooned backwards into Aizen's waiting arms. Aizen huffed as he caught the well-built male, scoffing derisively at his fanciful notions of a daring rescue from some handsome stranger that was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, Grimmjow, I think you've swallowed a tad bit too much seawater." Slinging a burly, bronze skinned arm over his shoulder for support, he steered the delirious prince away from the sea and back toward civilization. "Off we go. Come along, Pantera."

Said feline, who was parading around in the shallow waters of the surf, mewling and purring at the unseen merman concealing himself in the shadows of a not too distant rock platform above the sea's surface, hesitantly padded away and trotted off down the beach to catch up with her disorientated master.

From his hiding place, Ichigo let out a sigh of relief, watching with a heavy heart as the object of his desires slowly faded into the distance. Beside him, skimming upon the surface of the water, Renji and Rukia also gazed after the retreating figures, though they had very different emotions roiling in the pits of their stomachs. Renji was irrefutably glad that the blue-haired human had not woken sooner and discovered a lovesick Ichigo hanging over the top of him, the consequences of such a thing didn't even bear thinking about, but he couldn't deny that he felt a pang of guilt over the crestfallen visage of his best friend. Rukia on the other hand was having major palpitations! Ichigo not only saving a human's life and in the process endangering his own, but also dragging him ashore and damn near confessing his apparent infatuation for the man? This was bad… oh so very, very bad.

"Okay, so here's how this is going to go!" the raven-haired mermaid exclaimed, punching a fist into her palm and startling Renji who threw a withering glare her way. "We're all just going to forget that this ever happened. King Isshin doesn't ever need to know. You won't tell him," she demanded rather than implored of the red and black striped shark, Renji disapproving of her tone but agreeing with a nod nonetheless. "I won't tell him. I will stay in one piece."

Rolling his eyes when the delusional mermaid clasped her hands together in semblance of a prayer, Renji turned his attention to Ichigo who had remained rather quiet throughout Rukia's whole spiel, only to find the orangette clambering up the flat rock surface.

"Uh, Ichigo…?"

"I don't know when, and I have no idea how, but I know something's starting right now…" Ichigo declared, a faraway look glazing his eyes and a salty sea breeze ruffling his hair as he stared determinedly after Grimmjow. Renji frowned, unaware if Ichigo was even talking to him – or was conscious that he was talking at all. "Just watch and you'll see… One day I'll be part of your world."

Renji's frown furrowed deeper at that, a tingling sense of foreboding gnawing at his instincts as a large wave crashed into the bottom of the platform Ichigo was lying on and burst into an impressive watery spray behind him, almost as if punctuating the merman's declaration and cementing his resolve.

'_Oh well, at least Rukia didn't seem to hear him,'_ Renji thought, shrugging to himself. _'Thank Zeus for small graces, ey?'_

Not ten feet away from the oblivious trio of sea creatures, Getsuga and Tenshou prowled sinisterly within the darker depths, keeping a close eye as instructed on the orange-haired prince. Gold on obsidian orbs glowed eerily, transmitting what the two hammerheads saw back to their porcelain skinned master watching the events unfold from within his debauched cave of withering coral.

A malevolent smirk twisted pale lips as molten pools gazed at the orangette in the mystical orb. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no. I can't stand it. It's too easy!" Lazily gliding back to lounge out on a large slab of coral shaped like an open flower, midnight tailfin curling to and fro, the wicked entity chuckled with mirth. "So the boy is in love with a human, ey? An' not jus' any human – a prince! Heh. Papa Isshin will _love_ tha'."

Lucent scales shimmering hauntingly as he rolled onto his front to pillow his chin in his hand, the alabaster merman sneered at the lingering picture of Ichigo still sitting up at the shore, flashing a sliver of dauntingly sharp canines. Oh yes, everything was falling so neatly into place it was giddying. Soon enough he would know firsthand just how silky those spiky orange tresses felt as they poured through his black-polished fingertips, how soft those luscious lips would feel as he devoured them with his own, how that beautiful peachy skin would feel shuddering and writhing beneath him…

"Mmm, yes." He could almost taste him now. "The king's headstrong, lovesick son would _definitely_ make a charmin' addition ta my cosy empire…" A predatory grin worthy of a great white snaked across snowy lips, a manic cackle echoing eerily around him. "Soon, my little prince. Soon…"

* * *

A few mornings later, back in king Isshin's palace in a large, dome shaped room located just a short swim from the royal family's sleeping quarters, the more tomboyish and irritable of the twin princesses was gliding back and forth in front of a door made of green kelp, her mood crabby as she waited impatiently for her brother to make an appearance.

"Move your tailfin, Ichigo!" she snapped, folding her arms over her still developing chest. "You've been in there all morning, dammit! Other people live here too, ya know!"

"Please don't yell, Karin," the meek and kind-hearted sister, princess Yuzu, pleaded, her slender fingers skillfully pulling her honey-brown hair into an elegant braid. "It's still early, and not all of the palace is up yet. And besides, I'm sure big brother will be done soon."

"'Done soon' my left dorsal fin!" Karin retorted, her hands pinning to her hips. "He's been in there for nearly an hour already, and I still have to–"

The young mermaid trailed off when the wall of swaying seaweed parted and the subject of her ire came drifting out, a goofy grin plastered on his lips and ebony scales seeming to glitter majestically in the early morning rays of sunshine pooling through the water.

Humming softly to himself, Ichigo paid no heed to either of his little sisters as he passed them by and absentmindedly set about trying to tame his uncooperative spiky mane in front of one of the many mirrors in the centre of the room. He wasn't being ignorant or rude or anything of the sort – he was just so wrapped up in his own inner musings of wild teal hair and sun-kissed flesh that he honestly didn't notice they were even in the room. Karin frowned at his scatterbrained antics, so unused to seeing anything other than a scowl littering her brother's features that she was rendered speechless, whereas Yuzu delicately arched a sculpted brow, genuine curiosity and a warm sense of adoration swelling within her at Ichigo's recent bout of happiness.

"What the hell is with him lately?" Karin asked of the brunette sister, knowing full well that in the delirious kind of state Ichigo was in, he wouldn't acknowledge her existence even if she smacked him square between the eyes.

Yuzu shrugged, a dreamy smile of her own making her eyes almost sparkle as she watched their brother practically dance around the room. Karin merely huffed out a sigh and rolled her eyes, all too aware that she had now lost both siblings to the infectious aura surrounding the young prince.

Deeming himself respectable for the day, Ichigo pushed away from his seat at the underwater vanity, so lost in his own little fantasy world he didn't notice the arrival of a certain dark haired king – until he swam smack-dab into the elder man's chest. Shaking his head lightly, Ichigo grinned up at his bearded sire.

"Oh. Morning, Dad," he announced distractedly, patting a broad shoulder as he continued on his way down the corridor, humming contentedly once more.

Isshin gawped after the retreating prince, his jaw dropping as he witnessed the usually quite brusque orangette twisting and twirling through the water like he hadn't a care in the whole seven seas. When they had collided, Isshin had been so certain his fiery son was going to rip him a new gill or two he'd actually began to raise his arms in defense of the attack – only to get the shock of his life when his strapping boy laid his hand on him in greeting rather than aggression.

"Ichigo's got it _so_ bad," Karin commented from over his right shoulder as she diligently finished braiding her sister's hair.

Isshin continued to stare down the corridor, long after his son had vanished around the corner, his eyes wide and befuddled. "What? What has he got?"

"Isn't it obvious, daddy?" Yuzu sighed in a romantic tone, clasping her hands together under her chin and fluttering her thick eyelashes. "Ichigo's in love~"

This seemed to snap Isshin out of his stupor, and he gingerly ran his palm over the area where Ichigo had pat him, a beaming grin slowly tilting his lips. "Ichigo? In love?"

* * *

Rukia was fretting again, hands wringing and slim dark brows knotted together as she tormented herself over recent events. Sitting upon the bottom of a little rock structure about a mile out from the palace, she agonized over the story she'd fabricated for king Isshin to explain why his "pride and joy" had been absent all night long during the day of the storm. Had Isshin really bought it? Or was he simply waiting her out, waiting for her to slip up and get the story muddled before he pounced and turned her into a platter of surf and turf? Dear Zeus! She was too young and beautiful to die!

"Damn it, Rukia, pull yourself together!" she chastised herself, pulling a hand through her short bob of raven hair. "Okay. So far, so good. I don't think the king suspects a thing…" Frowning in annoyance when a bright yellow flower petal landed on her nose – and not for the first time – she irritably blew the thing away, glaring in the general vicinity above her before launching back into her morbid meditation and biting at her fingernails. "I've managed to pull the algae over Isshin's eyes for now, but it won't be easy keeping a secret like this for long…"

In a completely different mindset altogether, Ichigo lay on the same reef where Rukia sat, only he was lounged out on the smooth, curved arc a few feet above her head. Totally oblivious to her frantic ramblings, the orange-haired merman was studiously picking the petals off of a pretty sea flower growing from the colorful coral.

"He loves me," he recited to himself, resting his head in his left palm as his right fingers set about plucking the next bright yellow blade. His utopian-esque smile faltered upon the next petal however, his nose scrunching up as he more or less ripped it from the stalk, tossing it away carelessly and muttering, "He loves me not." His enchanting grin was back in full swing when he realized that he was now on the last one and he eagerly snatched it up, rolling over onto his back and clutching the silky petal to his chest. "Ha, he loves me! I knew it!"

Rukia, having finally had enough after hearing the fanatical – if not completely absurd – exclamation, ceased in her nervous grumbling and swam up to where Ichigo lay, leveling the yearning orangette with a particularly icy glare and a stern countenance. "For the love of all things amphibious, Ichigo! Will you stop with all this crazy talk? You're grinding on my last nerve."

"I have to see him again," Ichigo said suddenly, sitting up straight and ignoring Rukia completely. "Urahara knows where he lives…"

Rukia could only flail her arms as Ichigo glided past her, not even bothering to look her way. "Ichigo, please! Will you get your head out of the damn clouds and back into the water where it belongs? You're going to give me a conniption!"

Again, Ichigo neglected her plight. "All I have to do is swim up to his castle, then I'll get Renji to capture his attention – I mean, he _is_ a shark, that's sure to get us noticed. And then we'll go…"

Ichigo abruptly cut himself off as he turned around only to come face-to-face with a very unimpressed looking Rukia. "Down here is your home! Ichigo, listen to me. The human world, it's… well, it's a mess. Life down here under the sea is way better than anything they've got up there!"

Feeling an impending lecture coming on, Ichigo sighed, slowly floating back down to sit on the curved coral. Pillowing his chin in his palm, beautiful amber eyes began to glaze over even before the hard-boiled mermaid launched into her longwinded pitch.

"Look," Rukia began, tentatively broaching the subject to the teenage thorn in her side. "I know you're young and everything seems so wonderful and mystical up on land, but let me tell you, the seaweed always seems greener in somebody else's lake. I know that you dream about going up there, that you want to live and interact with the humans…" Rolling her amethyst eyes at the ambitious longing with which Ichigo gazed toward the surface, the raven-haired mermaid quickly maneuvered herself in front of the prince, grasping his chin between her slender fingers and forcing his attention back to her. "But that's a big mistake! Take a look around you, Ichigo! Look at the beauty and splendor that exists here; you're the prince of a glorious kingdom and are surrounded by people who love and care for you. What more could you possibly want?"

Ichigo quirked a brow, having thought that the answer to that particular question should be pretty obvious by now. Rukia grit her teeth, nostrils flaring and petite hands balling into fists as she repressed the overwhelming urge to throttle the orangette to within an inch of his life! Just as she opened her mouth to at least verbally abuse the obstinate merman, she found her scathing reprimand cut short as a deep (obnoxious) voice called out from somewhere close by.

"Ichigo? Oi, Ichigo! Where the hell are ya!"

Ichigo could have kissed the shark for his well calculated interruption. "Over here, Renji!"

Seconds later a rubbery smooth hide of scarlet red covered in bold lines of jagged black appeared, the carnivorous beast giving a sharp-toothed grin of triumph when he caught sight of his orange-haired pal. You know, for having such loud and luminous colored hair, the slippery little bugger was incomprehensibly hard to locate at the best of times.

"There ya are! I've been lookin' all over for ya, buddy. I've got some excit–" Renji trailed off and frowned at the other unexpected companion. "Oh. You're here, too. Great."

With an air of offense to the obvious cynicism, Rukia shot Renji a contemptuous glower and rested her fists on her hips. "What do you want, you overgrown fish? Can't you see I'm trying to school Ichigo here?"

"Well then it looks like I got here just in the nick of time, A-shells," Renji jeered, rows of lethally pointed teeth gleaming hungrily. "Me and Ichigo got things to do, so why don't you go bore someone else to tears, yeah?"

"What 'things'?" Rukia asked suspiciously, letting the insult slide for the time being in favor of sating her now growing concern.

"That ain't none'a your business," Renji easily evaded, already trying to coax an exasperated Ichigo into leaving with him.

Rukia was quick to intervene, seizing the colored shark by the pectoral fin and hindering their escape. "I think you'll find that it is most definitely my business," the petite mermaid seethed, pushed well beyond the limits of her thinning patience. "Being royal advisor to the king makes everything Ichigo does my business! If that boy," here she thrust a slender finger in Ichigo's direction, causing the teen to physically recoil, "so much as _sneezes_ I wanna know about it! And furthermore–"

"Rukia! Rukia!"

Rukia whipped her head round at the call of her name just in time to see king Isshin's announcer, the little orange seahorse with the ruffled collar, swimming frantically toward them. Heaving an aggravated sigh at the poorly timed interference, Rukia pivoted to inform the two troublesome sea creatures that their conversation was far from over only to find the disastrous duo strategically absent. For the love of–!

"This isn't over, you hear me!" she cursed out before turning her attention to the small seahorse. "What is it? This had better be good…"

"I've got an urgent message from the sea king," the small critter informed her, giving a formal salute as was customary for those serving under his royal highness.

"King Isshin?" Rukia reiterated, panic blooming in her chest.

The seahorse nodded enthusiastically. "He wants to see you right away. Something pertaining to Ichigo."

Rukia felt full-blown terror claw at her insides, violet eyes growing wide and heart stuttering to a halt. "Oh gods… He knows."

* * *

In a grand and splendid throne room sculpted from green coral and shimmering finely, sat upon an elevated throne carved to perfection and as smooth to the touch as polished marble, was none other than the great king Isshin, his glorious golden crown shining regally on his head and devastatingly powerful trident gripped loosely between the fingers of his right hand. Twirling the stem of a beautiful pink flower reminiscent of a lily that his dear sweet Yuzu had picked for him earlier that morning in his free hand, the mer king chuckled heartily to himself.

"Hm, let's see now," he spoke, his bearded face beaming with a distinguished grin. "Who could the lucky mermaid be that stole my strong and red-blooded son's heart?"

Lavender and indigo snared his attention and Isshin quickly shoved the flower out of sight behind his back, roughly clearing his throat to cover up his lackadaisical daydreaming as he gestured to the pretty mermaid hovering hesitantly by the entrance. "Please, come on in, Rukia."

Rukia flinched at the mere sound of his voice, audibly gulping as she imagined just how loud and furious it was going to sound when he flayed her alive over his impulsive son's most recent activities.

Fingers trembling lightly, she took as deep a breath as she could possibly manage and let it out slowly trough her nose. "Okay, I mustn't overreact," she croaked quietly to herself, taking several more erratic breaths in and out. "I must remain calm…"

Swimming over to the regal throne with an outward appearance of poise and grace, yet inwardly cringing with anxiety, Rukia stopped at the foot of where Isshin sat and bowed her head respectfully.

"Yes?" Her voice came out at least a whole semitone higher than normal, causing a faint blush to decorate the bridge of her nose before she swallowed thickly and attempted a redo. "Ahem… Yes, your Majesty?"

If Isshin noticed the cute little blunder, he didn't call her on it. "Eh, Rukia. I called you here because I'm concerned about Ichigo," he began, absentmindedly twisting his trident. "You didn't happen to notice that he's been acting peculiar lately, hm?"

Rukia felt her heart stammer melodramatically, feigning innocence by scratching idly at the back of her head. "Uh, peculiar…?"

"Why yes!" Isshin's smile was perky and proud, but still curiously subtle. "You know; mooning about, daydreaming, humming to himself…" He quirked a dark brow at the petite mermaid. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed?"

"Oh! Well, I… that is, he… uh…" Rukia hemmed, her heartbeat throbbing somewhere in her throat as she racked her brain to come up with a suitable excuse for the prince's odd behavior lately. The piercing, inquisitive stare from her superior and king really wasn't helping the process, not one bit.

"Oh, Rukia." Tailfin practically quivering, the raven-haired mermaid turned amethyst orbs toward Isshin to find him crooking his finger at her, beckoning her to his side. Unable to do anything but obey, Rukia drifted up to hover by the king's left side, her small hands curling up into tight fists just to keep them from shaking with nerves. "I know you've been keeping something from me."

Rukia forced a shaky smile upon her lips even though all she really wanted to do was book it from the room and hurl in a dark corner somewhere. If she had had legs, and subsequently knees, she just knew they would be quaking right about now. "Eheh, k-keeping something?"

"About Ichigo," Isshin prompted, a wicked gleam in his eye as he tried his damndest to get the pretty young maiden to give up the goods. He knew that Rukia and his son were good friends, and not far off in age. If he was going to get anything from her, he would have to up the ante a little more. "In love, hmm?"

Okay, now Rukia was positively about to start hyperventilating, that deadly, three pronged weapon looking mighty intimidating as it was pointed lazily in her direction. How on earth did the king find out? She hadn't breathed a word of Ichigo's love struck obsession with the blue-haired surface walker to anybody! And, though stupidly slow on the uptake, she knew Renji had more common sense than to go around blabbing that their prince was falling for a human of all things! Poseidon save her; what was she supposed to say?

"Well…?" Isshin urged, leaning in close to the mermaid boarding on some sort of seizure.

'_Self preservation,'_ Rukia immediately thought, her whole body shivering. _'A pre-emptive strike! And, of course, pleading for mercy.'_

"I tried to stop him, sir! He wouldn't listen!" Rukia exclaimed, clutching desperately at the elder merman's broad shoulders. "I told him to stay away from humans, that they're bad news! They're nothing but trouble!"

"Humans?" Isshin frowned, a seething rage boiling within his veins as he abruptly rose from his seat, fury potent in the atmosphere surrounding them and trident glowing with a furious energy. "What about humans!"

Quickly realizing her egregious oversight of the situation, Rukia gave a nervous laugh and slowly backed away from the enraged king. "Humans? Ahaha… Who said anything about humans?"

A large, callused hand nabbed her by the back of the neck, trailing her back before she could make a hasty retreat, the last thought entering her mind a somber apology to her orange-haired friend.

'_Gods, what have I done? I'm so sorry, Ichigo…'_

* * *

"Renji," Ichigo complained with a whine as the duo made their way back to the covert grotto, the young prince dutifully holding back the heavy bolder securing the entrance to allow the brightly colored shark to swim in first. "Why can't you just tell me what this is all about?"

Honestly, Renji had dragged him away from Rukia – not that he minded that aspect all too much – but had refused point blank to tell him for what purpose.

"Ugh, will you stop asking me that and c'mon already?" Renji huffed but with no real annoyance behind the words. "It's called a 'surprise' for a reason, yanno."

With a toothy smirk, Renji led them to the centre of their secluded little rock den, his grin growing exponentially upon hearing the hitched breath from the orangette when the reason for their travels was finally revealed. Ichigo quickly forgot he was ever frustrated with the secretive shark, his amber eyes growing wide and lips parting in bewildered delight.

"Oh god, Renji…" he breathed, scarcely daring to believe what he was seeing as his transfixed gaze eagerly drank in the sight of Grimmjow's celebratory statue sitting dead and centre within his little slice of heaven. Clumsily hugging his arms around his marine friend, he squeezed him tight in the sincerest gratitude. "I… I don't know what to say!"

Renji smugly puffed out his chest, watching as Ichigo eagerly dashed forward. "How's about, 'Renji, you're the greatest bud in the entire ocean!'"

"It looks just like him," Ichigo admired in a breathless tone, obviously not paying the least bit attention to Renji any longer as his fingertips traced the cold, sculpted stone in reverent strokes. "It even has his eyes…"

"Well, it _was_ modeled off of the guy," Renji scoffed playfully.

Ichigo didn't comment, too absorbed in his fanatical worship to give a second thought to the other living presence in the space. "Oh, Grimmjow," he sighed, his hands skimming down the statue's arm and chest. "If only we could run away together. I'd never want for anything for the rest of my life as long as I had you by my side." Slowly floating behind the sculpture, Ichigo slung his arms around its neck, imagining warm, tawny skin in place of smooth mineral as he pressed his body flush against the man's back. "I'd love you for all eternity, Grimmjow…"

It wasn't until he eventually managed to tear his eyes away from the captured perfection of the stone-Grimmjow's face that he became aware that they were no longer alone, the unmistakable outline of king Isshin's figure looming menacingly within the shadows instantly grabbing his full consideration. Gut churning and face turning ashen, Ichigo swallowed. "D-Dad?"

Renji whirled round at the revelation, swiftly scarpering from view to cower behind the very same rock Rukia was using as a shield between herself and the borderline manic mer king. _Holy sea-cow_, he'd never seen the usually eccentric male so damn angry before. Although his ego would never allow him to admit such a thing out loud, it was absolutely terrifying.

"I consider myself to be a reasonable merman," Isshin began in a low and serious tone as he came forward into the light, which did little more than highlight the frightening glower etched into his face. "I set certain rules, and I expect those rules to be obeyed."

Ichigo shrank backwards as his father advanced until he found himself bumping into Grimmjow's memorial, cornered, flustered, and with nowhere to hide. "Dad, please listen, I–"

"Is it true that you rescued a human from drowning?" Isshin demanded, his irritation leaving no room for his son's feeble attempts at explaining himself.

Ichigo bit his lip, knowing there was no gain to be had from lying now. "I had to."

Isshin felt his blood simmer a notch higher at the admission. "Contact between the human world and the mer world is strictly forbidden! Ichigo, you _know_ that! Everybody in the kingdom knows that!"

"He would have died," Ichigo was quick to defend, feeling his own irrational anger spiking at his sire's blatant disregard for another's life – regardless of species.

"One less human to worry about," Isshin easily dismissed.

"You don't even know him!" Ichigo spat before he could stop himself. Before he could even think about what he was saying.

"_Know him_?" Isshin rounded on his boy, his facial expression as dark as thunder as he cornered the young prince behind the large statue. "I don't have to know him! They're all the same; spineless, savage, harpooning fish-eaters incapable of any feeling–"

"I love him, Dad!" Ichigo suddenly blurted out, his brain-to-mouth filter completely malfunctioning in a moment of true despair.

For a long, unbearable minute there was nothing but silence. It seemed to stretch out between all present, thick and heavy and utterly suffocating. Ichigo could practically feel both Renji and Rukia's collective cringe of shock from where he cowered, though neither compared to the burning intensity of his father's absolute condemnation.

"No!" Isshin bellowed in outrage. "Have you lost your senses completely, boy? He's a human, you're a merman!"

Grasping tentatively around the statue's shoulders, Ichigo scowled, burying his face into the hard stone. "I don't care."

Isshin was above and beyond breaking point now. He had tried his best to reel in his free-spirited boy, and thought he might have been getting through that stubborn skull of his at one time or another, but this… this was something else entirely. This was unbelievably foolish, exceedingly dangerous, and completely unforgiveable. Yes, he had tried his best, but enough was enough, he would stand for it no longer. It was clear now that the young prince needed to be taught a severe lesson, and, if reason and leniency wasn't going to work, then he was going to have to learn it the hard way.

"So help me, Ichigo, I am going to get through to you," Isshin growled, the sheer animosity in the man's voice causing Ichigo to visibly flinch and shy away from his vastly larger physique. "And if this is the only way… so be it!"

Ichigo felt dread grip him tight as the king's trident began to glare a fierce and menacing reddish-orange, almost as if reflecting the anger of its wielder, a horrid clamor resounding from the mystical weapon as the king swung it around in a seemingly random direction. A blinding bolt of pure energy shot from the prongs, cutting through the water like a crack of lightening, striking its target of a world map globe. Bile rose in Ichigo's throat as the large sphere exploded in a flash a brilliant white light, the shattered pieces falling listlessly through the water to rain down upon them.

"No, Dad! Stop!" Ichigo begged, but it was much too late for words as Isshin rounded on his next target; a finely crafted candlestick holder. And then the next; this time an entire row of old paintings, books, and photo frames. "Don't! Please, stop!"

His son's anguished pleas fell on deaf ears as Isshin proceeded to obliterate every damnable trinket and possession within the once serene grotto. Nothing was spared from his wrath; beautiful ornaments, delicate bird cages, chests filled with pearled necklaces and glittering jewels, an old clock, painted vases…

When Isshin eventually ceased in his chaotic destruction, Ichigo had thought it was finally over – until he caught the vindictive flicker behind the king's eyes as he glared ferociously at his last and largest target. Ichigo followed the man's line of sight, his jaw falling slack and panic spreading like poison in his chest so that his heart skipped a beat.

Frantically swimming over to his sire, Ichigo clutched at his arm, amber eyes clouded with misery and heartache as he implored his father to spare his one remaining, most beloved treasure. "Dad, no!"

Isshin didn't listen.

Ichigo could only watch on in total heartbreak as Grimmjow's beautiful gift was struck in the chest, almost exactly where the living man's heart would be, long cracks and ruptures marring the glorious statue in glowing beams of light before the figure exploded with a deafening boom. Shielding his eyes against the searing whiteout that temporarily engulfed the entire cave, Ichigo felt his chest pang wretchedly when amber eyes fluttered open to the sight of raining debris, the memorial reduced to nothing more than randomly sized chunks of rubble.

Distraught, Ichigo threw himself upon the platform where the proud stony figure once stood and buried his face in his arms, his shoulders shaking with resentment and sorrow. King Isshin clenched his jaw at the sight, the inbred desire to comfort his upset son tugging violently at his heartstrings. With no small amount of effort he refrained, instead turning his back to the boy and stalking silently from the demolished ruins of the grotto.

Renji and Rukia shrank back from their monarch's retreating figure, both shocked and appalled at what they had just witnessed, only summoning the courage to approach the orangette when the king was completely out of view. Choking past the growing lump in her throat, Rukia tentatively reached out for the prince.

"I-Ichigo, I–"

"I don't want to hear it, Rukia," Ichigo snapped, his voice laced with more hurt than anger and his face still concealed from sight. "Just… go away. Both of you."

Knowing that there was nothing she could hope to do, or even say, in order to set things straight again, the dark-haired mermaid turned large violet eyes full of regret toward Renji, the shark offering no words as he cast his gaze to the seabed and wearily made his way back toward the mouth of the cave. Rukia was torn between following Renji and attempting to mend bridges, staring solemnly at the prince's trembling form before reluctantly deciding it was in her best interest to join Renji outside. Ichigo would be in no mood to talk, especially to her, and so she would just have to be patient and wait until he had time enough to mourn his losses.

Back inside the decimated haven, cunningly obscured from view within a shaded alcove situated above Ichigo's head, Getsuga and Tenshou gave matching sharp-toothed grins at the prince's beneficial misfortune. The mer king had only gone and done all the hard work for them! How deviously delightful.

Now that the coast was clear, they slithered out from hiding like a pair of venomous serpents, casting two large, dusky shadows over Ichigo's body as they circled him from above.

"Poor child," Getsuga commented, followed swiftly by Tenshou's affirmation of, "Poor, sweet child."

Ichigo frowned at the presence of the newcomers, gingerly lifting his head to see to whom the eerie, raspy voices belonged. He couldn't help the chilly feeling of mistrust flooding his veins when he caught sight of the two hammerheads, one with a body as black as toxic ink, the other the color of waxed ivory, and both with an eye of molten gold and rows of ruthless, scale-stripping teeth. Needless to say, Ichigo was instantly put on guard.

"He has a very serious problem," Getsuga continued, purposefully avoiding Ichigo's wary gaze as he leisurely swam by.

Tenshou nodded in agreement, passing on Ichigo's other side as he joined his brother. "If only there was something we could do…"

With a wicked smirk, Getsuga glanced at his comrade. "But there _is_ something."

"Who the hell are you?" Ichigo demanded to know, never once taking his eyes from the slinking duo. He wasn't an idiot, in spite of others' personal opinions, he knew better than to let the two hammerheads swim all over him. They were big trouble; he could feel it in the very marrow of his bones.

"Don't be scared," the ivory colored shark insisted, somewhat contradicting his words as he got right up in Ichigo's face, causing the orangette to cautiously lean away.

"We represent someone who can help you," Getsuga informed him, gliding in from over Ichigo's right shoulder as Tenshou curled his body around the cagey prince in a twisted parody of a playful nuzzle.

"Someone who can make all your dreams come true," Tenshou attested, smirking cruelly as Getsuga mirrored his actions by wrapping himself around the orangette's shoulders before sidling up beside his brother.

"Just imagine…" they rhymed off in unison, coiling around one another to form a twisted helix of black and white. "You and your prince… Together. _Forever_."

Ichigo scowled, his temples throbbing as his mind struggled to comprehend what in the world the two sharks were trying to tell him. "I don't understand. What do you want from me?"

Getsuga snickered, pinning distrustful amber eyes with a bewitching gaze. "Shirosaki… He has great powers…"

"The sea demon?" Ichigo asked, his throat constricting harshly at the mere mention of the creature's name. "What's that got to do with me? I mean, I couldn't possibly…" Shaking his head to rid himself of such insanely brainless notions, Ichigo lips tugged into a dark frown. "No! Get the hell out of here! Leave me alone."

With an air of indifference, Tenshou shrugged his head, casting a sly look to his brother as they both about-turned and swam toward the exit. "Suit yourself."

"It was only a suggestion…" Getsuga echoed, artfully flicking his tail to cast a remnant of Grimmjow's statue in Ichigo's direction, the piece clattering across rock and sand before strategically landing right next to the orangette's ebony tail.

Ichigo furrowed his brow at the noise before turning to investigate, only to have his breath catch in his throat at the sight of Grimmjow's handsome face staring up at him. Reaching out with a shaky hand, he picked the broken slab of stone up, biting his lip as he gazed into the man's eyes and delicately traced his fingertips over the cold features of his face.

Licking his lips, he knew he would seriously live to regret the next word out of his mouth, yet found it impossible to stop himself. "Wait."

Getsuga and Tenshou exchanged a knowing grin, before carefully schooling their expressions to one of complete ignorance and turning back to the young prince. "Yes…?"

* * *

"Shit," Renji grumbled to Rukia, pacing nervously back and forth. "I feel so bad for Ichigo."

The two were lingering not far from the entrance to the grotto, Renji's face downcast whilst Rukia sat on a rock nearby with her head in her hands and her brows firmly knotted.

"I didn't mean to tell…" she apologized for what felt like the billionth time over, her violet eyes welling miserably. "I swear it, Renji. It was an accident!"

Renji huffed out an aggravated breath, about to tell the crestfallen mermaid _exactly_ where she could stick her damn apologies, when a series of dark shadows shrouded them from overhead and effectively fenced his reprimand. Violet and russet orbs turned skyward, both their mouths gaping open as obsidian, ivory and orange floated on by without even sparing a glance in their direction.

"Ichigo? Where do you think you're going?" Rukia grilled, lavender tail pumping as she hastily took off after the trio, Renji hot on her fins as she swam in front of the orangette. "Ichigo, what are you doing here with this bottom-feeding scum?"

Getsuga and Tenshou bore their teeth threateningly at the remark, but otherwise remained impassive. Ichigo didn't stop, or even slow down, he simply gave a haughty frown and continued onward.

"I'm going to see Shirosaki," he replied, keeping his voice as calm and casual as he could possibly muster when his heart was fluttering madly and his every scale and pore prickled in apprehension.

Rukia was almost too shocked to be angry. "Ichigo, no!" she begged, grabbing a hold of Ichigo's crimson tailfin as she tried in vain to stop him. "He's a demon! A monster!"

"Why don't you just go simpering to my father?" Ichigo growled, glaring at the mermaid over his shoulder before easily casting her away. "You seem to be pretty good at that."

"But Ichigo, I… I…" Rukia watched helplessly as the trio faded further and further into the distance, frozen to the spot as a flurry of different emotions whirled around inside of her.

Renji swam up beside the raven-haired female, tempted to roll his eyes at her flabbergasted demeanor before butting his head against her shoulder. "Come on, shark-bait!" he scorned, already propelling himself in Ichigo's direction. "Someone's gotta look out for him!"

With a deep breath in through the nose to calm her rattled nerves, Rukia gave a determined nod and speedily took off after Renji.

* * *

Ichigo shivered, his skin erupting in gooseflesh and his nerves anything but steely. He'd never ventured this deep into the ocean before. Out here everything was so different, so dark and dreary and… dead. The water was a cloudy shade of navy, decorated not with teeming plant life and shoals of vibrant marine animals, but rather with decaying seaweed and brittle coral shaped like malevolent, outstretched fingers. Searing hot springs cast his body in heinous shades of red and he more than once started at the gruesome creatures with jagged fins, sharp teeth and grotesque appearances that slithered past them.

Amber eyes grew heavy with doubt when they eventually reached their destination; a large skeletal structure that looked like the bony remains of a once colossal and fearsome predatory sea beast.

Getsuga and Tenshou swam right up to the gaping mouth of their master's lair with nary a care, glancing back at the orange-haired merman as he hesitated to go any further. "This way…" they instructed with their hissing, serpentine tenors.

Choking back his thoroughly transparent fear, Ichigo guardedly followed them through the snarling jaw and deep into the underbelly of the great beast. Everything was highlighted in ghoulish shades of plum and fuchsia, allowing Ichigo to see that what he thought was a bed of haggard seaweed was actually something far more sinister. Grisly and frankly nightmarish faces stared up despairingly at Ichigo, the resonance of wailing moans and desolate cries making him want to cover his ears against the awful sounds. One brave corrupted soul saw a chance and sprang up, wrapping itself around Ichigo's wrist in a desperate bid for help. Ichigo cursed in shock and fright, frantically pulling free off the wretched thing before a haunting, echoic voice called out to him from somewhere up ahead.

"Come in. Come in, little prince…"

Ichigo anxiously did as he was told, rounding a corner to a sparsely decorated space effectively right in the centre of the beast's belly. Against the far wall he noticed a large design not unlike a conch shell, the quality to the other's tone suggesting to Ichigo that that was indeed from where the velvety voice was originating.

"We mustn' lurk in doorways, pet. It's awful rude." Ichigo was proven right in his assumptions when not two seconds later a lithe and beguilingly beautiful form glided out from the opening of the grand shell, the figure covered from head to waist in flawless porcelain skin and sporting a beautiful tail of shimmering pearly scales and glassy midnight fins. Pointed, carnal teeth were displayed through a vicious smirk, enchanting facial features alight with wicked mischief as long flowing locks of silver tinted ivory danced around muscular shoulders and cascaded down a toned back. "With manners like tha', one migh' question yer imperial upbringin'."

Ichigo chewed on his bottom lip as he coolly ventured forward, carefully approaching the grinning demon. Shirosaki narrowed gold on obsidian eyes and met the boy halfway, circling him like a ravenous wolf before the kill.

"Now then," Shirosaki proclaimed, Ichigo dully realizing that the echoic quality to the demon's tone had nothing to do with where they were. "You're here 'cause ya have a thing for this human, this prince fella, ne?" Placing his hands on the peachy planes of Ichigo's shoulders from behind, Shirosaki grinned, leaning forward to speak directly into the orangette's ear. "Not tha' I blame ya – he is quite the catch, isn' he?"

Chuckling at the irresistible shiver elicited from his pretty prince, Shirosaki brushed past Ichigo, intentionally rubbing against his side as he perched himself on a seat in front of a vanity mirror embellished with spiraled coral and small shelves harboring bottles and charms Ichigo couldn't hope to decipher.

"Here's how it is, angelfish," Shirosaki cooed from where he sat, running black varnished nails through his long hair as he deliberately avoided eye contact. "The solution ta yer lil' problem; y'know, without all the hassle of a _ridiculously_ long distance relationship, is really quite elementary. The only way ta get wha' ya want," orbs of liquid gold cast Ichigo an insidious look through the mirror, "is ta become a human yerself…"

Ichigo drew in a sharp breath, his motor functions short-circuiting as he drifted up behind the sea demon, amber eyes brimming with hope if not a hint of skepticism. "Can you really do that?"

Shirosaki's smirk was nothing short of feral. Gods, it was almost too easy.

"Aa, my dear, sweet prince – tha's what I do!" Shirosaki exclaimed, manic glee coursing beneath the surface as he pivoted to face his beautiful prey. "It's wha' I _live_ for; ta help unfortunate merfolk, like yerself. Poor souls with no one else ta turn to…"

Ichigo couldn't quite believe his ears. With Shirosaki's help, he could become a human! He could walk and talk and breathe up on land – he could find Grimmjow and finally confess his true feelings for the man. They could start a life together, be happy and laugh and love together. The prospect of such a dream-turned-reality was so simply wonderful, he could feel himself thrumming with anticipation already!

And yet… He couldn't help but question this supposedly selfless act of altruism. If life had taught him but one thing, it was that if something seemed too good to be true, then it most likely was. There just _had_ to be a catch in there somewhere; after all, nobody got something for nothing. Shirosaki would be no different, would surely have a price of his own – he was a demon, for crying out loud! It was sheer idiocy to assume he wouldn't have an angle to play.

And so the question begged; what did he want in return?

"I've heard the stories about you," Ichigo told him, folding his arms across his chest as he scrutinized the demon under furrowed brows. "Why should I trust in anything you have to offer me?"

Shirosaki's grin merely tugged wider, golden pools glittering as he sashayed over to Ichigo and clutched a hand over his heart in mock offense. "I'll be the first ta admit tha' I was somethin' of a troublemaker, a heretic if ya will – they didn't call me 'demon' fer nothin', ya know. But tha's all in the past, my prince. I've recanted all my old ways; repented, seen the light, made a switch – take yer pick."

"If all that's true," Ichigo responded, wisely maintaining his distance, "then why are you living all the way out here? Why not come back to the kingdom if you're truly a changed man?"

"Because your father is a cowardly worm an' a piss poor excuse for a king!" Shirosaki hissed before he could stop himself, the bitter sting from exile and abandonment temporarily getting the better of him. When golden orbs spied amber pools darken in trepidation however, he quickly reined himself in, plastering a charming grin on his lips as he slunk up beside the orangette. "But tha's neither here nor there, pet. As for righ' now, ya might wanna listen up. Fortunately for you I happen ta dabble in the dark arts; it's nuthin' ta fret about, jus' a little talent I've possessed since birth."

Ichigo watched with cynical eyes as the sea demon circled around a strange looking stand, running an alabaster hand over the top until the black porous thing opened up at the top to reveal a glowing, bubbling cauldron, the rim edged with sharp points that scarily resembled teeth of some sort.

"So lately, an' don' make fun, I've been usin' my Poseidon-given gifts on behalf of the miserable, the lonely an' depressed… _The pathetic_…" he muttered to Getsuga and Tenshou who were floating close-at-hand, the two sharks sniggering as he turned his attention back to his little prince. "All those poor, unfortunate souls in pain an' need, who d'ya think they come flockin' ta when they have a problem, ey? Tha's right; _me_."

"And those… _things_, stuck out there in your doorway?" Ichigo inquired with a cocked brow and set jaw. "What about those 'poor, unfortunate souls'?"

Shirosaki morphed his features into one of scruple and remorse. "Aa, yes, _them_. Okay, so its happened maybe once or twice; someone was unable ta pay up when their time came, an' am afraid I had no choice but ta rake 'em across the coals…" The alabaster demon shrugged, the action elegant in its heartlessness. "I've had ta deal with the odd complaint, it's true – but this is business, sweetheart, not a charity. Don' do the crime if ya can' stomach the time an' all tha' jazz."

"You really are a monster…" Ichigo growled in distaste, suddenly not feeling so confident about his rash decision to come here.

"Heh. Compared ta the old days, I've been a _saint_, baby," Shirosaki purred, wrapping an arm around Ichigo's waist and giving him a hearty squeeze as he guided them over to the effervescing cauldron. He could smell the sweet, delicious aroma of the boy's scent, the silky feeling of his skin beneath his fingertips and the warmth radiating off of that slender body in waves giving the demon the overwhelming urge to chain Ichigo down for eternity right here and now. But alas, it would be in his best interests to see the plan through, to make it more legal and… _binding_. "Here's the deal; I'll make ya a potion tha'll turn ya into a human for three days. Ya got tha', angel? _Three days_."

Ichigo gave nothing more than a hardy scowl and averted gaze from those exotic eyes to show that he had heard and understood. Shirosaki licked his lips hungrily. If the boy didn't stop acting so damn tempting, he'd have no choice but to devour him before they even got their covenant underway. Not that he would in any way dispute the idea, heaven forbid…

"Listen dollface, 'cause this is important." Waving his hand over the cauldron, Shirosaki conjured up three small orbs of radiant yellow, explaining to Ichigo as they rose and fell in succession, "Before the sun sets on the third day, ya've got ta get yer dear ol' princie ta fall in love with ya. By which of course I mean, he's got ta kiss ya." Seeing Ichigo dumbly nod along, Shirosaki frowned and elaborated. "Not jus' any kiss, now. It has ta be the kiss of _true love_."

A little ways behind them, where Ichigo had first entered into the belly of the skeletal lair, Renji and Rukia covertly peered around the corner, eavesdropping in on the conversation with no small amount of dread mounting within their guts.

"If he does kiss ya before the sun sets on the third day," Shirosaki went on, perfectly aware that they had company but in no way concerned that they would be interrupted – especially not with his loyal pets lurking around, "ya'll remain human permanently. But be warned, if he doesn't give up the goods, then ya'll turn back into a merman… An' then, my beautiful prince, _you_ belong ta _me_ for all eternity…"

"No, Ichigo!" Rukia protested before Ichigo could respond, Renji growling lowly beside her as her outburst simultaneously captured Getsuga and Tenshou's collective attention, alerting them to their intrusive presence. Not caring in the least that their cover had been effectively blown, Rukia made to dart forward, determined to drag Ichigo out of the evil clutches of the porcelain-skinned demon before it was too late. She got no further than her initial outcry though, as herself and Renji suddenly found themselves impeded by the black and ivory hides of the two hammerhead sharks, both of whom made it abundantly clear that they would not hesitate to tear them to chum should they attempt to interfere.

"Have we got a deal?" Shirosaki pressed, cupping Ichigo's chin in his hand as he redirected his focus away from his pesky friends and back toward himself. He was so close to sealing the deal he could taste it on the tip of his tongue, he couldn't afford to allow the orangette to lose focus now.

Ichigo was hesitant to answer, unable to sort through the muddle of warring and conflicting emotions competently enough. "If I become human," he began, his voice carrying low and heavy with uncertainty. "I'll never be with my father or sisters again…"

"Tha's right!" Shirosaki concurred, pillowing a fist under his chin and knitting his brows as if the thought had only just occurred to him at that very moment. "But on the other hand, ya'll have yer man," he pursued, a slow smirk snaking across his lips as he leaned provocatively over his cauldron. "Life's full'a tough choices, ain't it? Oh! An' there is jus' one more thing… We haven't discussed the subject 'a payment. Ya can't get somethin' fer nothin', ne?"

Ichigo felt his chest tighten considerably at that. He knew it!

"But I don't have any–"

"Am not askin' much!" Shirosaki was hasty to interrupt, pressing an alabaster finger to Ichigo's petal soft lips to silence him. "Jus' a token really; a trifle. I promise ya'll never even miss it!" Gently tracing his finger down over those luscious lips to hook under a peachy chin and tilt the boy's head back to eyelevel, Shirosaki gave a licentious purr. "What I want from you, little prince… is yer _voice_."

Ichigo blinked, tearing out of the demon's hold as he wrapped a hand delicately around his throat. "My voice?"

"You got it, babycakes," Shirosaki affirmed with a salacious wink. "No more talkin', singin'. Zip!"

'_Singing?'_ Ichigo grimaced to himself, wrinkling his nose. _'What does this guy take me for?' _Casting the thought from his head, he instead said aloud, "But that doesn't make any sense. Without my voice, how am I supposed to–"

"Ya'll have yer looks! Yer pretty face!" Shirosaki ventured before Ichigo could dwell too long on the negatives and potentially back down. Gliding over to the indecisive orangette, Shirosaki coiled his limber body around Ichigo's, making sure to touch and pet as much of him as physically possible, before coming to rest behind him. Molding the entire length of his body up against Ichigo's back, he skimmed his hands down his arms and – apparently quite sensitive – sides to curl around slim hips, undulating them to a beat that neither one could hear. "An' don' ever underestimate the importance 'a _body language_…"

Delivering a swift elbow to the demon's ribs, Ichigo wriggled out of Shirosaki's grasp, putting some much needed distance between them. If Shirosaki took any umbrage toward the attack, he didn't care to comment on it. In fact, Ichigo thought, he looked somewhat amused with that immoral, carnivorous grin.

"Heh! Ya'll fit in jus' fine up there, pet!" Shirosaki crowed triumphantly, more than pleased about his future mate's fiery spirit. "Surface-dwellin' men don' like a lot'a blabber. All tha' gossip an' idle prattle does nothin' but piss 'em off." With a swish of his tailfin he made his way up to a clam on the wall, the two hinged shells sitting open to expose shelves full of bottles small and large, some filled with viscous liquids whilst others appeared to imprison living organisms. Without even having to look at what he was grabbing, the demon started tossing bottle after bottle over his shoulder, the clear vials dancing past Ichigo's face and somehow finding their way into the now smoldering cauldron with a bang and plume of smoke. "A true gentleman will dote an' swoon an' fawn over those who're distant an' withdrawn. Mystique an' intrigue; tha's wha' they go nuts fer, darlin'! Up there, it's he who holds his tongue tha' gets his man!"

Renji, Rukia, and even Ichigo, all balked as Shirosaki threw yet more potions and vials into the crackling cauldron, his echoic voice reverberating with a sinister hum all around them.

"C'mon, Ichigo, ya poor, unfortunate soul!" Shirosaki sneered, his left hand clamping down on Ichigo's shoulder whilst his right carded through and fisted in soft, sunset tangerine spikes. "Go ahead, little prince – make yer choice! I happen ta be a very busy demon, an' I ain't got all day ta sit around an' wait fer ya. It's not like it's gonna cost ya much, jus' yer voice…" Slithering around behind the stalling orangette, Shirosaki smirked against the shell of his ear as he conjured up a golden and glowing contract. "If ya wanna cross a bridge, sweetcheeks, ya've got ta pay the toll. If ya want yer happily ever after with the human of yer dreams, then go ahead; jus' pick up the pen an' sign the deed. It's tha' simple…"

Renji and Rukia could do nothing but spectate with panic-stricken eyes and terror gripping their insides as Ichigo determinedly snatched up the fishbone writing implement, scowl still etched deep into his brow and teeth worrying his lip as he signed his name in neat, looping letters across the dotted line at the bottom of the floating contract. There, it was done – and there was absolutely no turning back now.

As soon as he lifted the pen from the parchment it rolled up on itself and flew into the ebony tipped fingers of Shirosaki, the demon letting loose a bone-chilling cackle as he grasped the scroll and it disappeared with a blinding flash into thin air.

"Excellent choice!" Shirosaki declared with a ravenous, lopsided smirk, eyeing Ichigo up like he was a tasty morsel laid out upon a silver platter. "An' now ta seal the deal an' collect on my end of the bargain…"

Ichigo's every nerve end buzzed with adrenaline and, admittedly, fear as Shirosaki closed in on him, that skull pendant hanging around a marbled collarbone shimmering forebodingly in the dim light. Long, alabaster arms enclosed around his back and waist, hugging him firm against the demon's body so that his senses were flooded with smooth flesh, molten pools encased in toxic obsidian, and a hypnotic, citrusy musk. With his fight-or-flight instincts kicking into overdrive, Ichigo began to resist against the hold, only to have those strong arms envelop him tighter.

"Don' struggle, little prince," Shirosaki warned with a carnal glimmer to those mesmerizing eyes, an inky blue tongue flicking out to lick a pale bottom lip. "Ya'll jus' make this all the more fun… fer me."

That being said, Shirosaki promptly brought his lips down to crash against Ichigo's own, the young merman so startled he couldn't have put up a fight even if he wanted to. Shirosaki purred hungrily against those carnation pink lips; they were everything he'd ever hoped they would be – and more. Ichigo was absolute perfection and, in just three short days, he would be all his to sate and adore as he saw fit.

Ichigo thought he saw a flicker of light from behind his closed eyes, but before he could investigate Shirosaki adequately distracted him by tracing his tongue over the seam of his lips, beckoning him to engage in their passionate embrace. Ichigo's jaw slackened, though not by choice. This was his first true kiss! Stolen by a demon, no less. In spite of his age, he had never really expressed much interest in any kind of romantic intimacy, far too caught up in the wonderment of exploration and adventure instead to bother. Then, after having his heart swept away by Grimmjow and his ethereal good looks, Ichigo had naïvely believed that it would fall upon the handsome human to take his first kiss, his first love… his first everything.

Shirosaki was rather disappointed in Ichigo's lack of acknowledgement, especially after he managed to part those beautiful lips and swipe his tongue inside for a deep taste of his soon-to-be mate, but he shrugged it off figuring they would have more than enough time to explore and please one another after Ichigo returned home to him. With this in mind, he kept casting the phrenic incantations this particular spell necessitated, slowly but surely achieving his goal. No sense in rushing these things, eh?

When Ichigo first felt an inexplicable scratching at the back of his throat, he believed it might have something to do with the arduous kiss being lavished upon him. He soon realized that this was not the case however, and that it was in fact Shirosaki, quite literally, sucking a precious piece of his very soul from his body. When Shirosaki finally released him, disturbed amber orbs looked on in dismay as the demon's pendant began to shine and hum from the paranormal power incarcerating his voice.

Shirosaki held the pendant with both hands, his thumbs stroking over the skull design as his lips parted into a razor sharp smirk and his head tossed back, loud, psychotic barks of laughter filling the tumultuous ambience swarming down around them. With no time to react, Ichigo was snatched up by a large golden pouch of air, the cauldron hissing and spewing torrents of noxious gas as his form twisted and thrashed within the capsule, supernatural forces at work as diabolical tendrils of energy encased his tail and split it into two lean, athletically sculpted legs.

With no warning whatsoever, the pocket of air surrounding Ichigo suddenly popped and the orangette, not thinking clearly in all the chaotic commotion, tried to take in a breath. But alas, all he got for his efforts was a deep lungful of seawater, the realization that he could no longer breathe under water hitting him like a blow to the gut – he was drowning!

Acting fast, Renji and Rukia rushed to the prince's aid. Not used to his newly acquired limbs, Ichigo tried fruitlessly to swim upward, he needed air! But his legs wouldn't coordinate with the rest of his body. Luckily Renji and Rukia were right there beside him, Rukia guiding Ichigo to grab hold of Renji's dorsal fin and securing him there with her petite body before Renji shot up and out of a craggy gap in the lairs ceiling, propelling all three of them swiftly toward the water's surface and leaving an insanely cackling Shirosaki behind in the murky depths.

Breaking through the surf, Ichigo took a long, greedy gulp of precious oxygen, his body arching high out of the water and sending a spray of glittering droplets that sparkled like diamonds against the early morning rays in every which direction. Feeling incredibly lightheaded now that his lungs were suitably replenished, Ichigo sank back down into the water, Renji and Rukia hooking an arm each over themselves as they helped the dazed prince off toward the shoreline.

Both friends could feel Ichigo tiredly kicking the new extensions to his body as they gradually verged upon the beach, but neither could bring themselves to voice their concerns on the matter. Their minds were still reeling, still aimlessly trying to comprehend what the hell had just transpired between the monstrous demon and the orange-haired merman. Well, that wasn't exactly correct anymore, as was blatantly obvious with the addition of two fleshy, peach hued legs paddling between them…

…Ichigo, their beloved prince and dearest friend, was now a living, breathing _human man_.

* * *

**_Toringtino_ A/N: **Ahoy there, me hearties~ Welcome to "Still Waters"; the first official collaboration piece between myself an' the too talented for words, _caribouandcake_!

In case y'all hadn't already guessed, Belle an' I are bonafide Disney nuts. Like, proper ga-ga. Writin' this with Gabrielle was an absolute pleasure, an' after her glorious rendition of this classic tale at the beginnin', I can only hope I did my Aibou proud :3 I know tha' this is quite the long one (an' by my standards, tha's really sayin' somethin'!) but I had awesome fun mixin' it up ta fulfil the ever ravenous GrimmIchi spot in our hearts (: Mhmm. I encourage y'all ta please do enjoy at yer own peril, mah sweets, an' ta rest easy in the assurance tha' there is plenty more where this came from~ Oh, yes.

Over ta you, Aibou ^^

**_Caribouandcake A/N:_**Ah, I really do feel Tori said it all. We're Disney freaks right down to the core, we listen to the soundtracks and everything. Not to mention Disneyworld in Orlando pretty much happens to be my favorite place in the whole entire universe. For real. Bringing these classic love stories to GrimmIchi life with my lil' partner in crime... what more can a gal ask for? Ah. it's gonna be good. That much I can tell you.


	2. Still Waters - Part Two

_**.:Still Waters:.**_

_**~Part Two~**_

…

Beaches are supposed to be one of the most relaxing places in the entire world, their picturesque scenery of flawless miles of white sand bordering the multi-dimensional shades of every identifiable blue and green that paint nature's largest source of life. On early spring days like that one where the temperature is the perfect mellow warm with a cool breeze in the salt-scented, misty air and the rhythmic frothy crashes of waves on the shore the ocean's everlasting, steady heartbeat, Grimmjow usually wouldn't have a care in the world.

Those had all been before his twenty-first birthday when tragedy had struck the vessel under his command out on the very waters he'd scoured unrelentingly since he'd woken lying on his back upon the shore in the exact moment the sun rose over the eastern horizon, its celestial light definitely beaming over him to illuminate the beautiful vision of his savior.

Nevertheless, in a cruel twist of fate the sun's rays had been blindingly bright and cast shadows that'd obscured his view of the mysterious figure's face. His bleary, burning eyes had managed to drink in the toned, peachy flesh of a lithe, masculine torso, glittering dark amber orbs sparkling down at him, lusty pink lips, and this aural crownof hair woven in the luminescent shade of tangerines and honey blossoms in the fleeting seconds they'd shared together, his hand able to cradle the smooth satin skin of a face that still appeared like an old memory in his mind and had proved its existence from that single touch.

And then there had been that _voice._

It had sounded as if this beatific stranger had spoken in sweet melodies, his tone as pleasingly harmonious as chords played on finely tuned instruments by master composers, and this live Siren had called to him, to his very soul, and bewitched the prince utterly once he heard his own name on that delicate yet full set of lips.

_Just you and me, Grimmjow, _the earth-bound angel had said to him gently, already having stolen the blunette's tedious sanity and wildly thumping heart. _Then I could be part of your world..._

Then he'd vanished as if turning into part of the grayish sea mist, somehow just suddenly _gone_. Not that Grimmjow believed someone capable of a disappearing act so convincing without some sort of help, it wasn't possible. So the headstrong royal had set out to find the enigmatic young man with sun-colored hair and a habit of saving random men from a watery grave among the coral reefs, yet nowhere anywhere along the coast for miles did Grimmjow find him, thoroughly ignoring pleas for him to accept the reality that he'd hallucinated the whole encounter after narrowly avoiding death.

No, he was real all right, the man felt it in his bones that his savior was out there and closer than he probably even realized. He could've never imagined a voice like that, a voice so perfect he'd suffered through countless torturous, carnal dreams consisting of nothing aside from those hypnotic sounds and then abruptly find himself starting awake tangled within his bed sheets unbelievably hard and furious these nocturnal visitations from his desire remained the deceits of his subconscious.

Somewhat breaking out of his deep contemplation on the distinctive presence missing in his life, Grimmjow tore his gaze from the seemingly endless sea and looked down where pretty Pantera was padding across the sand toward him, mewing questioningly up at her owner. He crouched down onto his haunches so he and the Savannah were at eye-level, rubbing the thick patch of white fur on the back of her neck and making her pointed ears flick back and forth curiously.

"Yeah, I know I gotta find him, Pan. But I've already looked everywhere," he told the feline bitterly, his brow knitting in a frustrated scowl as his eyes swiveled back to the gentle waves of the ocean. "Where could he be?"

* * *

Of all the things he'd discovered about the human world, Ichigo never so much came across as an inkling about how hard it was to walk on these things. How did they ever learn, let alone make it look so easy? He felt totally incompetent when so far he achieved a new personal record of two bowlegged steps before falling back on his ass. This had all obviously been a spectator event for his audience consisting of a fingernail-gnawing, nervous wreck of a mermaid and a red and black striped shark clearly trying to be supportive but unable to stop staring at him like he'd grown a second head instead of a pair of legs.

Currently he was sitting back on his hands in the shallow low tide boasting several craggy rock formations right beside his prince's castle, his long, perfect gams spread out in front of him. Well, at least they were a comfortable fit, almost even more so than his tail since two slender appendages were easier to maneuver.

Ichigo slowly lifted one of his recent cosmetic changes above the water. He was helpless to stop himself beam from ear to ear in delight as he again saw his flawless foot poke out from underneath the surf and wigged all five toes, still thinking this was the best thing that had ever happened to him in all the years of his young life. By Poseidon's name, _he'd done it_.

He had_ legs_.

Crossing one over the other, similar to how humans sometimes posed for pictures, Ichigo lamented his longing to shout in triumph and spin around as he'd also seen humans do but, clearly, that was the last thing he could do for the time being. He had to nail the basic casual stroll down first, then he could attempt the more advanced techniques.

"Mah mah, look at what the catfish dragged in!" a sing-song voice called from above, drawing Ichigo's amber orbs skyward where the familiar feathery form of his land-faring, avian friend was circling in to greet the trio of sea-dwellers (though that would soon change.) Urahara actually chose the knee of the orangette's top leg as his landing perch, the latter raising an eyebrow at the seagull's obliviousness. "Look at you, there's certainly something different about you today, Ichigo. Wait, don't tell me!"

Ichigo grinned at the fact that even if he wanted to give away the secret to his differed appearance, he couldn't exactly 'tell' the bird anyway. Hmm, that would probably take longer for him to adjust to than the whole walking thing. A few feet away, Rukia rolled her eyes as Urahara scrutinized the boy for the tiniest change since he'd last seen him. "Ah, I've got it! It's your hairdo, is it not? You've been using the dinglehopper, haven't you?"

Ichigo just shook his head, pressing his lips together to keep from smiling. "No you say, well let me see... A new shark tooth necklace?" Urahara guessed, earning another head shake in the negative, and he scratched his green striped hat using the end of one wing. Deciding to take some pity on the seagull, Ichigo began bouncing the leg he was standing on top of in a not so subtle hint. "No new necklace... I have to admit I can't put my foot on it right now, but if I just stand here long enough I know that I'll-"

"He's got LEGS, you idiot! He traded his voice to the sea demon and got legs, Poseidon help us all!" Rukia screeched, nowhere close to being in the mood for dealing with Ichigo's friend's... eccentricity. She was barely holding it together in the face of this evil the orange-haired prince had brought on her with his selfish need to prance about on land with those awful humans.

"I knew that," Urahara protested, adjusting the brim of his hat.

"Look, Ichigo's been turned into a human," Renji jumped in to the discussion, sensing that those two in a conversation on their own were bound for trouble they didn't need now of all times. "He's gotta make the prince fall in love with him and he's gotta kiss him, got it?"

Urahara didn't answer for Ichigo sent him fluttering away onto the ledge of the closest rock as he tried to stand again, holding his arms out to the sides to help balance himself as his entire body trembled in effort. This time he'd improved to stay upright on his madly shaking legs, knees swaying in and out, a whole five seconds until he inevitably stumbled clumsily to the right, splashing into the shallow waters face first and showering the rest of them with the salty spray.

However, stubborn to a fault, Ichigo pushed himself back up, casually removing a thick, emerald strand of seaweed from his mop of tousled tangerine. He'd barely taken one toddling step when he collapsed into a heap of limbs and even more seaweed, which seemed to be Rukia's breaking point.

"He's only got three days! Just look at him- on legs, on _human legs_!" she wailed despondently, burying her face in her hands and then suddenly gesturing them up to the heavens as if seeking divine intervention during her time of need. " This is a catastrophe! What would the king say? I'll tell you what the king would say, he'd say he's gonna throw a mermaid in the prime of her youth to the fishermen's nets with a school of salmon, that's what he'd say!"

"You are one chick in some desperate need of psychiatric help. Seriously, you literally scream at us every other day King Isshin is going to set a Great White on you or make you into fish fry for his dinner and nothing-"

"That's it, I'm not the mermaid going down for this, oh no way! I have to do the sensible thing and end this madness right now," Rukia announced, throwing a hand in the shark's face and sliding down off her rock back into the shallow tide. "I am going to march straight into the castle and look the king in the eye and tell him just like I should've done the minute-..."

The dark-haired mermaid fell silent as Ichigo frantically scrambled over the jagged sandstone and sent miniature tidal waves of seawater in all directions in his haste to reach her, grabbing her by her slim shoulders in evident alarm. Having successfully gotten her attention, the orangette shook his head fervently to show he was very much against his father hearing about what he'd done.

"No, don't you shake your head at me, young man," Rukia ordered the other teen sternly, trying to nip this insanity in the bud that instant. It was for his own good, after all. "Maybe there's still time, Ichi! If we could get that demon to give you back your voice, you could go home with all the normal fish, and just be… just be…"

The overwhelming heartache in those big brown eyes was the saddest thing she's ever seen, the shimmer of unshed tears glistening over those expressive amber orbs conveying the sheer magnificence of the depths of Ichigo's feelings for this prince stealing her breath away.

"And just be miserable for the rest of your life," Rukia sighed deeply, not capable of the cruelty it would require to crush her best friend's soul simply so she wouldn't be in any risk of the king's punishment. Ichigo would have done the same for her without a doubt and if anyone deserved their true love, it had to be him, "All right, _all right_. I'll try to help you snatch up that prince - but I had better be made the maid of honor at the wedding, understood?"

Ichigo's hug of gratitude nearly cracked one of her ribs but she just pat him on the back, knowing she would one day wonder why she'd ever been such a sap.

"Ahem, speaking as an expert on human culture I believe I can assist you here, Ichigo," Urahara spoke up, folding one wing behind him and pointing at the teen's scandalously bared human body. "Lesson one is simple: if you wish to be a human you have to dress like one, and no need to worry because I have just the thing."

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, the four of them had traveled along the great length the castle walls serving as a border between the royal family's prized palace and the seashores until they'd at last come to where there was an opening in the endless white stone and to Urahara's pleasure there was a rather decently sized rock formation a short distance from it on the sand beyond the water line.

Ichigo had been directed to stand in front of the ledge so that the seagull could get the full effect of exactly how the orangette looked in the human outfit designed especially for his 'grand entrance' as the bird had phrased it. However, the expressions Rukia and Renji were currently wearing as they too studied Urahara's fashions - as worn by a young man who hadn't improved in the whole walking department as much as they had hoped - spoke volumes louder than the original 'artist's' praise.

"You look great, kid, absolutely sensational. When they see you wearing this you'll knock 'em dead for certain."

This was the first occasion Ichigo really missed his voice as he was brimming with questions about what precisely he was dressed in considering it appeared nothing similar to the clothes he'd witnessed on humans before. He felt incredibly uncomfortable in it as well since it was basically an extensive, thick length of off-white fabric that was torn in some places and scratched the bare skin underneath with its rough texture. With Rukia's help, this single piece of fabric had been wrapped around him from under his arms to below the knee and then secured into place with rope tied too loosely, causing the makeshift article of clothing to keep slipping down and bunch together around his thighs.

_If this looks as stupid as it feels I'll strangle that bird's scrawny little neck with my bare hands_, Ichigo vowed mentally, leaning more of his weight on the big rock at his back as his legs were already threatening to give out from under him.

"Cock your hip to the side and place your other hand on your waist... ah, perfect!" Urahara gave him a shrill wolf whistle as he did as told, wondering how posing like this would get Grimmjow to fall in love with him at first sight. "Now give me your best 'come hither' look, and a smile would work wonders, too."

The teen's face fell into an irritable scowl the same time noises could be heard from right on the other side of the castle walls, his gut wrenching harshly and panic taking control of his actions at the reality that he was really doing this, Grimmjow sure to appear from around the opening any second now. His three friends instantly disappearing from sight and leaving him to do this on his own.

Eyes wide as sand dollars, Ichigo clutched onto the folds of his outfit and bit his lip as he anticipated the owner of whomever's footsteps were coming closer and closer...

When the one to shoot out of the confines of the castle walls and onto the beach was not only definitely not the blue-haired prince but not even human at all, he felt his eyebrows raise to meet his hairline and he grew warier of the waist-high, pearly white creature as it barrelled across the distance straight for him. Unsure of what to expect of the foreign animal, Ichigo backed up as far as possible on the rock ledge and wondered why the admittedly cute yet quite enthusiastic thing seemed to believe he was terribly interesting.

It ran right up to where he'd curled up atop the rock, standing up on its hind legs to place sand-covered paws on top of Ichigo's knees, staring at the boy with light blue eyes and a small pink tongue lolling out of the side of its mouth. _Oh, now I remember you,_ he thought as he recognized the 'cat' that had accompanied Grimmjow loyally that night on the ship and the prince had risked life and limb to save. Now feeling fondness grow within for the cat, he leaned down closer to her level - Pantera, as he recalled that being her name - and deciphered once she jumped up to swipe her rough tongue over the tip of his nose he wasn't the only one who remembered their brief encounter when they'd first met.

"Pan, what in the hell are you-!" a deep, rough voice called out and Ichigo's head snapped up to where it had come from, his mouth going utterly dry and his heart leaping into his throat as he laid eyes upon the man he loved. "Oh... oh, I see."

Grimmjow had donned his usual get up of a loosely fitted collared white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, light blue trousers belted with a bright red sash, black knee-high leather boots, and yet Ichigo felt as if he were staring at a god too radiant for mere mortal eyes. How he ever could've considered that ridiculous statue even comparable to the real thing was beyond him.

And Grimmjow was nearing him in every one of his long, confident strides that caused the younger male to be ashamed of his own trembling, shuffled steps punctuated every so often by the clamour of when he fell face first. He would seem an absolute invalid beside the man.

Yet was it okay for him not to give a damn as long as it meant he would be beside him?

_I told you one day I would be part of your world, _Ichigo mused wistfully in his head, a wry smirk forming on his lips as he imagined what the other's reaction might be if he hadn't believed that every word had been as sincere as they were meant to be. Maybe, if he should be so lucky, Grimmjow had felt that immediate intimate connection between them too and had been waiting or even searching for him in the time since. Everything should fall into perfect place at this excruciating moment they saw each other once again, the precise one the seventeen year-old had risked everything for to have that chance of being with Grimmjow, hopefully for a very long while.

_Please remember me..._

However, the blue-haired prince was functioning on a completely different wavelength. Traditionally when the albino Savannah became excited by something along the shores outside she and her master's home's protective walls it would turn out to be some kind of dead animal that had washed up from the water, so it was fair that Grimmjow hadn't been expecting anything out of the ordinary when Pantera had abruptly began trailing the scent of her next target at light speed. He'd have been surprised if she had led him to anything other than the carcass of another creature demised.

So once he did see for himself what she'd discovered on the castle's private and therefore unpopulated beach was a boy maybe a few years younger than himself, sitting astride the ledge of a large rock and being lavished with playful affections by his famously aloof cat, Grimmjow had nearly been stunned into silence. Yet started approaching the strange teenager seemingly stranded all on his own on the prince's land and that was when the boy had lifted his head, the powerful and somehow alluring gaze emanating from within warm, softly glittering brandy orbs - eyes truly unlike any other.

Nothing ever truly caught Grimmjow off guard, he was the ruling monarch of an entire kingdom and the sole living descendent of the legendary House of Jaegerjaques, bred to be a leader, a hunter, a conqueror, a man above all others. No one should have weaponry so dangerous to him as an exquisite face so beatifically ravishing angels would be sick with envy. The vibrant orange of his halo-like hair was practically glowing under the grayscale shade of the thick clouds above them, like the illuminating radiance of a sunrise...

"You... seem very familIar to me," Grimmjow finally said, trying his hardest to ignore the fullness in his chest as this gorgeous stranger struck a tightly strung chord somewhere inside him and he was barely aware of leaning against the side of the rock the orangette was perched upon and sliding to its edge. "Have we met before?" the blunette demanded a bit more harshly than he'd intended.

Ecstatic at the confirmation Grimmjow had held onto the memory of when they'd lain on the sand after the storm and experienced that indescribable bond, Ichigo grinned broadly and hastily nodded that yes, they most definitely had met before. His breath left him all in a single gasp when his hands were seized by the other man's.

"I knew it, you're the one I've been looking for," Grimmjow said smugly, his smirk of satisfaction stemming not from arrogance but a deep seated content that the one he's ached for had come back for him. "Tell me your name," he said, eager for that precious piece of knowledge

_Ichigo, _the orangette tried to say, his lips moving and nothing spilling forth from them. Devastation weighed down on him heavily in place of his quickly fading euphoric delirium, his temporarily forgotten deal with the sea demon rushing back into his mind and his expression twisted to mirror the delayed grief and anguish as he right then and there realized what he'd lost.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Grimmjow asked of him as he picked up on the dampening of Ichigo's aura as it happened. His answer was a pair of lost, almost childlike eyes full of guilt and the younger man pulling one hand out of his grasp to gently tap his exposed throat, the implication like an implosion of their reunion. "You can't speak," he stated rather than asked and received a slow shaking of the other's head, their hands falling apart and Grimmjow angling his face away from Ichigo's. "Then you couldn't be who I thought."

Pantera hissed aggressively below them, baring her feline set of sharp teeth, and Ichigo huffed defeatedly. Couldn't the man see he was clearly exactly who Grimmjow had thought he was? It wasn't exactly common to see hairstyles in the precise same shade of orange, after all. But he hadn't come this far to give up now, even the man's cat agreed they belonged together.

_Needing_ the blunette to know the truth, Ichigo gestured wildly to capture the man's attention and so that dazzling sapphire blue was focused intently on discerning the message that would explain everything. He swam his hand through the air and made a big circle to say 'ocean', then pointing a finger at himself. "What's the matter? You're hurt?" Grimmjow guessed, shot down frantically when the other shook his head and drew the letter 'X' right before the older man's face.

Though the boy's pantomiming became more rushed he understood the desperation for someone to know what he was saying, his increased efforts merely confusing Grimmjow further, the meaning of two pointer fingers held behind his head of tangerine spikes and grabbing his own neck appearing nonsensical, this game of charades lost on him completely. "No, so... you need help?" he guessed again, not using the clues to decipher the explanation, but rather simply asking just in case the answer was a yes.

Grimmjow was unable to not offer his aid to the younger, his more humane side molding the mute beauty into a tragic figure in his eyes. There was more to this orangette who'd been discovered stranded alone on an empty beach and with nothing on his person save for the clothing he'd made for himself out of an old mast sail and some rope, obviously confused and not able to tell a soul what'd happened to him or communicate with those who would possibly help in some way. It was not often Grimmjow experienced pity, but the desolation of this orange-haired teen's situation visible under dark lashes in pools of warm brandy appealed to his sense of basic decency. What to do about it was what had to be determined.

As the boy's frustration reached maximum levels he became careless, not paying attention to his precarious position on the rock ledge and one exaggerated motion later he lost his balance completely and plummeted forward, straight into Grimmjow's upper body . "Whoa, careful there," the blue-haired prince grunted, catching the teen's weight before either of them could go down and securing the other in his arms.

All of those hours Ichigo had lavished alone in his grotto imagining what it would surely feel like to be held by his love's burly arms had not even touched the surface of the sensations conjured by the man's actual embrace. Grimmjow cradled Ichigo to the elder's addictively warm, solid body firmly so that he felt safe and shielded from harm and still took it upon himself to treat him with a surprisingly gentility, as if he were something precious. The slighter male's enhanced sensitivity to touch due to the one touching him the blue-haired love of his life sent shivers down his spine and created a sudden inability to keep himself upright.

"Damn, you must have really been through hell lately," Grimmjow murmured, steadying the strange yet endearing soul whom he knew nearly nothing about. A tender and somewhat enchanting moment passed between the two, wherein they moved in sync to meet each other's eyes, and final decisions were made on the spot by them both. Grimmjow was going to do what he could for the other man and Ichigo was not going to protest in the least, in non-verbal ways that is. "Look, I'm going to help you, okay? I may not be a saint but you can trust me. Come on, let's go inside. I've got you now."

Ichigo gave a secretive minute smile at the ground, adoring the way the other male was rather blunt for a noble and gave orders even when being chivalrous and helping out what he thought was a total stranger, and to him it was actually soothing to his frayed nerves to be told everything would be okay - no ands, ifs, or buts to stress over and the closest to serenity he'd ever gotten in his life as Grimmjow guided him past the castle's outer walls and inside his home, the now pleased Pantera sauntering behind them with her tail held up in the air and swaying back and forth.

Shooting one last smirk of triumph over his shoulder to where he knew Renji and Rukia had spied on their entire encounter, Ichigo returned his gaze forward to stare in wonder at the extensive splendor of the kingdom's ornate castle for their rulers and theirs families.

Left behind in their hiding spots in the jagged rocks in the shallow waters, a miracle occurred and both Rukia and Renji were quiet for an entire minute until the shark grumbled, "Well that was easy."

"Easy? Ugh, honestly are you blind or deaf or both?" Rukia scoffed, clearly having just watched something entirely different from whatever Renji had seen happen between their lovesick friend and that prince. "Ichigo nearly blew it just now, trying to _mime_ out his life story to a man who thinks they'd never met until now. Did he give his brain to the sea demon, too?"

"But that blue-haired dude just picked him up and brought him inside his awesome house, isn't that a good sign?" Renji pointed out, thinking that the petite brunette had no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh, Ichigo got lucky this time 'cause he's cute! That won't work forever, you know. Now come on and help me look for a way I can get to that boy and talk some sense into him so he can get his damned kiss and I can go home." Rukia was aware of how bitchy she was coming across for the time being but somebody had to be on point during this secret operation.

She may have been many things but she was not blind, deaf, nor stupid and so she recognized true love when it was unfolding right in front of her. Everything depended on that one kiss. Ichigo's lifelong happiness and freedom was at stake and he was going to make that man realize his real identity as the one who'd saved him drowning and watched over his unconscious form and been there, smiling down at him as he'd awakened and evidently developed feelings for Ichigo equally as ardent.

They simply needed a little push in the right direction, and who would make sure they got it if she didn't?

* * *

Once he'd entered the castle's grand foyer decorated in marble tile flooring and a wraparound balcony looking down from the second story, Ichigo had started when Grimmjow's voice boomed throughout the spacious structure, echoing and reverberating off the stone walls like when he and Renji had been caught up in a pack of whales during their mating calls. He was also taken aback when one person, a middle-aged woman whose long black hair was braided into a simple plait starting underneath her chin and continuing all the way to her waist appeared descending the staircase on the right.

"Ah, Retsu, there you are," Grimmjow said, and Ichigo couldn't help but notice the fondness in those sapphire eyes as the woman approached.

"Master Grimmjow," the woman replied in warm tones, a kind smile adorning her lips as she respectfully inclined her head. "A pleasure, as always. Though I really wish you wouldn't bellow quite so loudly – your voice has the tendency to carry with crystal clarity through these old hallways. And besides, you know that I am never too far away."

Ichigo watched, rapt with fascination, as the blue-haired prince gave a sheepish grin, a delicate hue of pink dusting the bridge of his nose as he scratched at the back of his head. Was Grimmjow… _blushing_? He never would have thought it possible, had he not just witnessed it with his own two eyes.

"Heh, sorry about that," Grimmjow apologized, yet another rarity for the bull-headed prince. "I guess I forget sometimes just how manly and–"

"Manners, young Master," the woman gently interceded, her cobalt gaze drifting toward the bright haired male to Grimmjow's right. "When you bring a guest to your home, it is proper etiquette to introduce them to those they are unfamiliar with. You don't want the poor boy to feel uncomfortable, do you?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, right," Grimmjow stammered, turning to Ichigo like he'd all but forgotten he was standing there. "This is why I called you, actually," he said, urging the timid orangette forward with a firm hand on his back. "I found the kid stranded out on the beach, all alone with nothin' but the clothes- uh, _mast_ on his back. I can only speculate he washed up on the shore from a shipwreck."

The woman gave a soft gasp. "Oh my, how dreadful. Are you alright, dear? Do you require medical attention?"

Ichigo opened his mouth with every intention of telling the fretting woman that he was indeed fine, that she needn't worry, that he had everything he could ever want now that Grimmjow was by his side… only to remember that he couldn't give her any verbal reassurances whatsoever – not even a hum of content. Pressing his lips together in a thin line, he cast his gaze down to his feet and answered with a despondent shrug of the shoulders.

Confused by the boy's actions, the dark-haired woman looked to Grimmjow for answers. The prince sighed, automatically reaching out to ruffle the younger male's soft sunshiny tresses but thought better of it and lowered his hand back to his side.

"From what I can gather, he's completely mute," Grimmjow explained, his brows furrowing in sympathy when the orangette seemed to flinch at his words.

A brief look of concern flitted across the woman's soft features before she replaced it with compassion and a mother's smile. "Do not be disheartened, young one. As Master Grimmjow adequately demonstrated mere moments ago, voices can be somewhat… overrated."

Ichigo quirked his lips at that, whereas Grimmjow felt rather piqued. "Oi, that's not very–"

"Unfortunate circumstances aside," the woman pressed on, once again completely disregarding the disgruntled prince. "It is an honor to meet you. I am Retsu Unohana, a Lady of the castle and prince Grimmjow's primary caregiver."

When Unohana bowed politely at the waist, Ichigo chanced a quick look up at Grimmjow. The blunette gave him a dashing grin, one which weakened his knees and spread warmth throughout his veins whilst simultaneously assuring him that everything was going to be okay. Feeling insurmountably better from that one simple gesture alone, Ichigo turned his attention to his surroundings, aimlessly wandering about the foyer and taking in all the wondrous details of the castle whilst Grimmjow and Unohana conversed.

"He certainly is a curious spirit," Unohana mentioned casually as she noticed amber eyes alight with marvel greedily drinking in the splendor of the castle. With a subtle curve of the lips, she turned back to Grimmjow, who she noted was also staring after the orange-haired youth. "Beautiful, too. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah," Grimmjow murmured almost instantly, completely forgetting himself – and subsequently his audience – as sapphire eyes trailed hypnotically after the mysterious teen. Quickly realizing his blunder, the blunette straightened up and cleared his throat. "I mean, uh… That is, I…"

With a knowing smile, Unohana put an end to his misery. She had what she needed. "Would you like me to escort the boy for the afternoon, Master Grimmjow? I know you have important business to conduct that will keep you busy until dinner."

Grimmjow gave the kindhearted woman a grateful grin, only just refraining from kissing her. "That would be great, 'Hana. I don't know if there's anybody out there lookin' for him, but until I find out otherwise it's safe to assume he'll be spending his days here with me– _us_. With _us_. Here. In the castle." Unohana didn't say a word, but Grimmjow knew her well enough to read the mirthful glint in those dark blue orbs that were openly teasing him. "So, yeah… Just show him around a bit, get him settled into a room, maybe draw him a bath an' get him some clean clothes. I want him to feel comfortable here, welcome… like he belongs."

"Of course," Unohana replied with a small acknowledging nod. "Anything else?"

"Keep questions to a minimum, obviously, and if you absolutely _have_ to ask then try to word it in a way that he can answer with a yes or no. Don't just ignore him, though. He may not be able to talk, but he sure as hell seems to like listenin' just fine. I filled the awkward silence on the way here with useless banter, and the kid looked like he was hangin' off my every word!" Unohana felt inclined to mention the likelihood of the beautiful teen becoming transfixed even without the use of vocabulary on Grimmjow's part, but decided to keep said inclinations to herself for the time being. With an encouraging smile, she gestured for the prince to continue. "If you can manage it, try not to bombard him with a load of people and introductions. From what I can tell he's quite unsteady and, I dunno… submissive? It's strange, really; almost like he's unsure of what he's doing or even _who_ he is. Does that make sense?"

"More than you know," Unohana answered cryptically. "Do not fret, young Master, I will take good care of our guest. Now, why don't you run along, you have a long day ahead and you know that it is rude to keep others waiting."

"Ugh, do I have to?" Grimmjow frowned with a feigned groan of displeasure. Well, most of it was feigned, anyway. When Unohana merely raised a brow, he conceded with a mildly petulant huff. "Fine, alright. Am goin'… Just let me say goodbye to the kid first."

With a compromising nod, both Grimmjow and Unohana turned toward the orange-haired teen, only to stop short at the sight that greeted them; a shocked and flustered Nanao Ise, one of the live-in maids, gaping at the orangette as the overly inquisitive teen paraded around with her thin rimmed glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose. Unohana politely concealed a humored smile behind her hand, whilst Grimmjow openly laughed outright at the weirdly adorable scene.

Ichigo on the other hand was mightily confused. He'd seen these strange human devices before in various different paintings and portraits he had acquired from desolate underwater wreckages, and had it on very good authority from Scuttle himself that humans used the circular glass to see into the not so distant future – that's why they were reserved for those of scientific background and great intellect, just like the men in the paintings. So why then when he put on the wire framed apparatus did his vision blur and swim like it did when he was a mere babe and his eyes were evolving to suit the water? He was a prince, was he not? They should work for him too, damn it!

With a disgruntled huff of disappointment, Ichigo pushed the glasses up to rest on the crown of his head, blinking rapidly to dispel the bleary edges to his vision. The maid was still gawking at him, looking like she wanted to say something or perhaps even snatch the doohickey back (though Ichigo couldn't fathom why when it was obvious they were broken), and it was during this bumbling exchange that the teen happened to glance down the drab servant uniform to two very prim, very shiny shoes.

_Huh…_

Looking at his own bare feet, he gave an experimental wriggle of the toes and frowned. Everybody seemed to cover their feet up here on land, even Grimmjow, and whilst the novelty of his newly acquired fleshy appendages still hadn't quite waned Ichigo wanted nothing more than to just fit in, to be the best damn human he could in order to win his prince's affections.

With a goal now firmly implanted in his mind, Ichigo determinedly set about trying to make his intentions clear to the hemming maid without the use of words, which turned out to be an arduous and frustrating task if ever there was one.

"Oh my… What is he doing now?" Unohana queried with a subtle tilt of the head. The boy was surely fascinating, like a blossoming child first discovering the wonders of the world.

Grimmjow's brows pulled into a puzzled frown, though the smile never left his mouth for an instant. "I have absolutely no idea," he replied honestly as he watched the teen gesticulate wildly to the Nanao's feet and then his own, trying his damnedest to communicate… well, he had no fucking clue _what_ exactly. Gently nudging Unohana in the ribs, the prince gave a wicked smirk. "Heh, just look at Nanao's face, though. I don't think I've ever seen the girl so speechless before!"

Unohana gave the blunette a chastising side glance, wiping the grin right off of Grimmjow's face, before sweeping her arm out toward the pair as indication that he should intervene. Disguising an eye roll behind the guise of scratching his temple, the blue-haired prince gave a curt nod and stepped forward.

Ichigo was in the middle of attempting to remove Nanao's right shoe, the poor maid sputtering and sporting a crimson blush as she fought the overeager stranger off when Grimmjow finally butt in. When he felt a large and callused hand settle on his shoulder, Ichigo immediately ceased in his fruitless endeavors and straightened up, amber eyes peering up through dark lashes to lock with glittering sapphire.

"I get that you're excited to be here, kid, but that ain't no excuse to frisk the staff," Grimmjow said with a devastating grin to which Ichigo promptly melted. Casting a devious wink in Nanao's direction, his grin morphed into a smirk. "Not that Nanao wasn't lovin' every damn second of it…"

"W-What!" Nanao stammered, her blush flaring even brighter. "I most certainly was not!"

"Oh, c'mon Nana, don't be such a prude," Grimmjow teased, throwing an arm around Ichigo's shoulders and hugging him close. Ichigo certainly wasn't complaining, even when Grimmjow went a step further and playfully pinched his cheek. "Ya can't tell me that gettin' felt up by a kid this beautiful didn't get you even a little hot under the collar…?"

Nanao squared her jaw, positively fuming by now. "Why you…!"

"That's quite enough," Unohana's soft but stern voice interjected, the motherly undertones causing the ruffled maid to shy back like a scolded toddler. Grimmjow gave a triumphant grin and puffed up his chest – only to immediately deflate with Unohana's casual remark of; "I was talking to you, young Master." Smile unperturbed, she turned next to the huffing maid. Honestly, it was like dealing with a pair of preteens. "You are excused, Nanao. Please return to your duties."

"Yes, ma'am." With a polite bow, a not-so-polite glower at a certain blue-haired monarch, and not before snatching back her commandeered glasses, Nanao made a swift exit, mumbling under her breath of perverted princes and attempted rape.

Holding back a weary sigh, Unohana directed her attention to her loutish charge. "Now then, didn't you have an important meeting to attend, Master Grimmjow? I'm sure Aizen and the other representatives are waiting for you."

Sensing the sinister connotations to the deceptively innocent comment, Grimmjow wisely chose to heed the woman's words. "Eh, yeah. Sure. I was just goin'…" Dropping his arm from around Ichigo, he smiled down at the apprehensive looking teen. "Hey, what's that look for? I'll be back before you know it. 'Hana here is gonna show you around whilst I'm gone, get you comfortable with the castle and show you your sleeping quarters. Don't worry, kid, you're in the best of hands."

With a final handsome grin and a spirited tousle of his tangerine spikes, Grimmjow about turned and started down a long corridor off to their right. Ichigo reached a hand out after the retreating prince, amber eyes wide with a flurry of consternation and panic. He was just about ready to bolt after Grimmjow, not wanting to be separated from the man not only for the purposes of his objective, but also because he was so utterly lost and completely alone up here on the surface. But before he could take a single step, a soft and delicate hand touched upon his bare shoulder making him whirl round fast enough to give himself whiplash.

"I realize that you are all alone, and are probably frightened right now, but rest assured that we mean you no harm. You are safe here," Unohana tentatively coaxed the startled boy, her eyes curving at the corners and radiating trust. Smiling warmly, she removed her hand and gestured to the hall opposite the one Grimmjow had passed down. "Shall we?"

Without waiting for an answer, Unohana began down the corridor. Ichigo blinked and watched her go, the caring woman not glancing back even once to see if he was following her or not. Biting his lip, Ichigo took one last longing look down where Grimmjow had gone before hurriedly trailing after Unohana. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something about the motherly, dark haired woman that he found infinitely comforting. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that in this weird and wonderful world she would shelter and protect him like she would her own blood. Who knows, perhaps she may even hold the key to winning over Grimmjow's heart? It was worth a shot.

As Ichigo meticulously pondered his next move, Unohana walked silently ahead, a gentle grin lighting up her features.

* * *

Ichigo was exceedingly satisfied with his decision to follow Unohana, and was currently basking in _heaven_.

After a very brief inauguration consisting of where he would be sleeping and how to get to and from certain places, including the dinning room, kitchens, library and gardens, Unohana had introduced him to his very own private bathroom – a novelty to one whom, even as a prince himself, has had to share with younger siblings for many, many years.

Drawing the vibrant haired teen a nice, hot bath full of calming salts and copious amounts of bubbles, Unohana gave the boy a few moments of privacy to divest himself of his – for lack of a better word – clothing, before keeping him company whilst he bathed. The look of sheer delight on the teen's face as he immersed himself in the torrent of frothy bubbles, joyously scooping up handfuls and blowing them into the air only to watch with sparkling amber eyes as they floated back down like fragile diamonds was enough for her heart to swell with fondness and overlook the sopping mess of the white tiled floor beneath her feet.

Smiling down on the spritely child, Unohana carefully broached a rather pressing issue. "Master Grimmjow tells me you were washed up from a shipwreck; that must have been a very traumatic experience for you. Would you like to try and communicate your feelings on the matter? Sometimes talking through your problems with others can relieve a lot of the stress induced in such upsetting circumstances."

Ichigo bit down on the inside of his cheek and glanced away, drawing his knees despondently to his chest in response. How could he possibly try and enlighten this woman as to his situation? As it was, even if he could still talk and endeavored to explain himself, there was no way she could possibly ever hope to begin to understand what he had done in the name of true love.

Sensing the great distress suddenly clouding the beautiful teen, Unohana simply inclined her head, chalking it down to a much too painful memory to drudge up at the moment and swiftly changed the subject.

"Well, my young charge also tells me that you're fond of listening, hmm? I may not be as avid a storyteller as Master Grimmjow, to whom you seem so enthralled every time he speaks…" Ichigo ducked his head at that, a furious splash of pink dusting across the bridge of his nose as he busied himself with the suddenly very interesting tap fixtures. Unohana's eyes curved just that little bit more. "…but perhaps you would like to hear a little of our prince's story?"

Ichigo immediately snapped to attention, whipping round so fast that Unohana barely managed to avoid a thorough soaking. Smiling sheepishly, Ichigo nodded his head in the affirmative. With an amused chuckle, Unohana waved away the teen's bashfulness over his actions and took a seat perched on the rim of the large tub.

"Grimmjow's mother and father were a very happy couple, and wonderful monarchs. They ruled their kingdom with pride and integrity, and all of their citizens were truly content. Our king was born and raised here, but his queen was a princess from across the waters – France, I believe. She was so overwhelmingly beautiful and incomprehensibly kind hearted that king Jaegerjaques proposed after just one week of courting. The palace was overjoyed."

Unohana paused, letting fond memories of long ago wash over her as Ichigo sat quietly by her side, his arms crossed over the edge of the tub and pillowing his head as he lost himself in the tale of Grimmjow's past.

"For a long time they tried to conceive, but as the months passed by and still no fruit for their efforts, they lost all hope of ever providing the kingdom with an heir. The queen was so disheartened that she started to blame herself, and so the king whisked them both away on a romantic cruise to reaffirm his devotion to her. When they returned it was with elated hearts and the most joyous news; the queen was pregnant. It's quite beautiful, really. Grimmjow was begot from the deep dark recesses of despair as a shining ray of hope and prosperity."

Subconsciously Ichigo inclined his head, as if affirming that the statement was indeed fact, and Unohana had to carefully school her expression so as not to give away the boy's gaffe.

"The queen had a happy and healthy pregnancy, positively glowing with radiance wherever she stepped. The king was swollen with pride, and doted on his expecting bride and unborn babe – it was such an honor to be able to observe them behind closed doors, to see the queen reclining late at night in the study when Grimmjow kept her up with his fussing, reading poetry out loud to her fruitful stomach in the hopes of soothing her anxious bundle, or witnessing the king humbly massaging his queen's tired feet when the swelling became too much to bear. But perhaps my favorite memories are of early in the morning, when I would venture to wake the blessed couple for the day to find them basking in the others embrace, adoring smiles upon their faces and eyes shining only for each other…"

Ichigo gave a wistful sigh; that sounded so _magical_. He really hoped that he and Grimmjow would share a love just like that, so full of cherishment and adoration and heart. When he gazed up at Unohana, however, he felt all the warmth and fuzzy delight sap slowly from his body at the pained and saddened look clouding her usually amiable eyes. Whatever was coming next, it wasn't going to be good…

"As the chief physician of the palace, I was called the very instance the queen went into labor on an unusually cold and dreary July morning. She was in terrible pain, so much more than any delivery I had ever preformed before – and I knew, deep down in my heart, that she wasn't going to make it." Ichigo's eyes widened at that and he choked on a soundless gasp. "I think the queen knew it as well, and by all accounts she should have perished long before she could give birth – but as any devoted and determined mother would, she used the last of her deteriorating strength to bring Grimmjow safely into the world. Nursing her precious baby boy to her heart, she passed away quietly not five minutes later to the sound of Grimmjow's wailing and with the biggest smile I have ever seen touching her lips. The king, of course, was completely distraught. For weeks on end he was inconsolable and neglected everything and everyone around him, including himself. The only happiness he could find was in fawning over his bouncing boy, the only piece of his wife that he had left. His health suffered, and Grimmjow was barely out of the crib when he too followed his dearly beloved in death. We never did find an official cause of death, though many speculated that he simply died of a broken heart."

Ichigo blinked back the tears pooling at the corners of his eyes, trying his best to be discreet as he thumbed away the evidence of the lone bead that escaped before he could prevent it. If Unohana noticed she didn't comment, she merely reached out to tenderly pet her hand through his damp tangerine tresses.

"Oh child, Grimmjow's story may not have such a happy beginning, but it is the rest of his journey that matters, that makes him who he is. With Aizen by his side and my guidance to aid him every step of the way, he has grown into a truly remarkable young man. Though many of the royal council believe him still too brash and impudent to rule over the lands as king – especially with no wife to speak of – I have absolutely no doubt that he will prove his worth and make a fine ruler one day. With a raw nautical savvy and diplomatic aptitude ingrained into the very marrow of his bones courtesy of his father, coupled with devastating good looks and a passionate spirit from his mother, Master Grimmjow will surely conquer worlds. Of this I am certain."

Chewing pensively on his bottom lip, Ichigo reclined back into the spacious tub, shivering as a chill that had nothing to do with the suddenly tepid bathwater raced down his spine. Poor Grimmjow. He couldn't believe just how unfortunate his young human life had been, growing up without a mother and father and left with the weight of an entire kingdom to govern bearing down on his shoulders. Ichigo knew full well the kinds of pressure being a prince could entail, but even so he had his family to fall back on when things became too overwhelming or taxing. Hell, he had Rukia and Renji to help shoulder the burden for him. But Grimmjow… he'd had no one. The orangette was sure that Unohana and Aizen had done a wonderful job raising him, he could see as much for himself, but it could never quite substitute for the real deal. Ichigo was unfortunate enough to know firsthand what it was like to lose a parent, but to lose both before you ever really knew them? Well, that just broke his heart.

With nothing but the trickle of rushing water as Unohana washed Ichigo's hair and the idle chatter of the palace attendants filtering in from outside, the atmosphere gradually drained of the thick tension polluting it before, allowing Unohana to work in a companionable silence and the boy to mull over his emotions in peace.

'_Well now, Master Grimmjow,'_ she mused to herself as she tipped the teen's head back to rinse of the lathery suds. _'It would seem that worlds are not the only commodity you will conquer…'_

Ichigo quirked a quizzical brow at the nurturing woman when she began humming softly to herself, wondering what it was she could be thinking to make her smile like that. Unohana offered the puzzled teen no explanation, just hummed a little louder and smiled a little wider.

* * *

Early that evening, Grimmjow had finally wrapped up his business for the day and was very much glad for the fact – honestly, there was only so much monotonous drivel from foreign ambassadors about congested shipping routes and trade agreements he could take! He was a young and virile man for crying out loud, and as such his political attention span only reached so far… Not to mention it was exceedingly hard to concentrate on serious economic and bureaucratic issues when he couldn't get a certain orange-haired enigmatic beauty out of his god damn head. A rather piqued Aizen had had to snap him out of his idyllic daze on several separate occasions and apologize profusely to their guests on the prince's behalf.

And so, after an energetic run along the beach to clear the boredom induced fog muzzing up his brain and a long, hot bath to rid himself of the dirt and sweat acquired during said run, Grimmjow and Aizen had retired to the dining room to await the arrival of their most recent lodger.

The banquet hall was a commodious and splendid room, with floor to ceiling windows built into the north and eastern walls overlooking the sea, flooding the vast area with torrents of shimmering light that rippled like the waves it reflected. On the western walls hung three large, magnificent pictures; the one on the right a stunning rendition of the late king's vessel docked at its home port, on the left Grimmjow's own pride and joy sailing over crisp blue waters, and taking up centre a beautiful portrait of his mother and father on the day of their blessed union. A long, hand crafted oak dining table was situated in the middle of the room, chairs to accommodate an entire party lined the table with Grimmjow's overly elaborate seat positioned at the head. Currently Aizen occupied the prince's place whilst the blue-haired royal paced agitatedly back and forth in front of the windows to his left.

"Oh, Grimmjow, do be reasonable," Aizen said with an impatient sigh as chocolate brown eyes lazily followed the blunette's restless strides. "Gallant young men just don't swim around rescuing people in the middle of the ocean and then flitter off into oblivion…"

Grimmjow's lip twitched in a growl. "So what, you're sayin' you don't believe me?"

"No, no, of course not," Aizen reasoned calmly, eyes now focused on the task of filling his finely made calabash smoking pipe with tobacco – a parting gift from the oversea emissaries they had convened with early today. "All I'm saying is that perhaps you should spend a little less time chasing your own tail and more time focusing on what's right under your nose."

"I'm tellin' ya, he was real; I just _know_ it." Turning away from those skeptical brown eyes that seemed to tell him otherwise (_"you're dreaming, boy"_) Grimmjow pressed his left forearm against the cool glass of the window, sapphire orbs mirroring the pinky gold hues of the dying sun and brows furrowed in determination. "I'm gonna find him, Aizen. I swear it."

The brown-haired advisor gave a short, noncommittal hum. "And then what?"

Pausing to think over his answer, Grimmjow scowled harder at the crashing waves meters below. "And then I'm gonna–"

The handsome prince got no further as Unohana's pleasant lilting voice filtered in from the open doorway, interrupting his train of thought and instantly snaring both men's attention.

"Come along, child," the woman coaxed, gently tugging at a shadowed figure. "Don't be shy."

With a firm yet tender press to her newest charge's shoulders, Unohana urged the skittish teen forward into the room and stood back to happily watch the events unravel. Ichigo licked his lips, suddenly feeling incomprehensibly nervous as he timidly edged himself toward where the gorgeous blunette stood. Stepping out of the shadows and into a pool of dusky sunlight, he raised a hand to shield his eyes against the sudden glare before lowering both to his lap and twiddling his thumbs, a shy smile curling one corner of his mouth.

Grimmjow could easily count the amount of times he had been genuinely gobsmacked on one hand, but this was definitely not like any time before. Sapphire pools wide, jaw slack and pulse bordering on erratic, he couldn't even string one coherent sentence together in order to properly greet the frankly _ravishing_ teen. The amber eyed beauty was dressed in a fine powder blue shirt with a cream colored silk sash tied loosely around his waist, tailored black slacks adorned his athletic legs and buckled Italian leather boots decked his feet. The first couple of buttons on the shirt had been left undone, advertising a creamy expanse of smooth, kissable skin and highlighting the silver necklace draped around his neck, Grimmjow's insignia surrounded with small, glittering stones of blue topaz dancing against the fading light.

Swallowing hard, the human prince tried desperately to ignore how good his family's emblem looked nestled snugly against the kid's collarbone. The shirt was obviously one of Grimmjow's own; not only did he recognize it as such, but the sleeves were slightly too long on the boy's arms and the cuffs covered most of his hands (which Grimmjow found rather darling if anyone cared to ask). The teen's peachy skin looked fresh and radiant, his choppy orange hair soft and clean, and his eyes big and sparkling. Gods, he looked so… so…

"Well, well. Grimmjow, isn't he an absolute vision?" Aizen simpered slyly from behind the blunette, making Grimmjow start from his unexpected proximity.

'_Yes.'_ Grimmjow affirmed to himself with a subtle nod. _'A vision; that's _exactly_ the word I was looking for.'_

Feeling a tad tongue tied as the orangette carefully advanced, Grimmjow awkwardly cleared his throat and gave the boy a debonair grin. "You look amazing," he breathed before he had the wit to stop himself. "Uh, I mean clean– no! Er, that is you look… decent?"

Ichigo cutely scrunched up his nose, unsure whether to be offended that he had just been branded 'decent' by the man of his dreams or flattered that the blunette seemed so frazzled at his mere appearance. In the end, if only to save his withering pride, he decided to choose the latter.

Glancing back at the distinctly baffled look plastered all over Aizen's usually so collected features, and the poorly hidden look of mirth decorating Unohana's, Grimmjow huffed and rolled his eyes before falling seamlessly back into his typically audacious mannerisms. With a cocky smirk and a rough tousle of tangerine spikes, he winked down at the nervous teen.

"Ya scrub up real good, kid."

Before the royal idiot could dig himself an even bigger hole in which to bury his sudden case of foot-in-mouth, Aizen quickly intruded upon Ichigo, escorting him over to the dining table by the elbow.

"Come, come, come. You must be famished, dear boy. Let me help you." Sitting where instructed on the left of Grimmjow's grand chair, Ichigo smiled gratefully as the prince bustled Aizen out of the way to guide his chair in before walking to his own. "There we go, that's much better. Are you quite comfortable?"

Ichigo didn't register the older man's question, his attention immediately fixated on the shining silver dinglehopper sitting right next to his plate. He wasn't entirely sure why they would have an instrument for grooming ones hair resting on the same surface where they supposedly ate their food, but hey, who was he to argue the specifics of human social conduct? With a mental shrug and a certain gusto, he picked up the dinglehopper.

Sat directly across from the orange-haired youth, Aizen continued to ramble on. "I must say, it isn't every day that we have such a lovely dinner guest, eh, Grimmjow?"

"When I think of our most recent guests, I'm inclined to agree," Grimmjow snorted with an antagonistic flair.

Aizen leveled the blunette with a reproachful stare. "Now young prince, that's no way to talk about your distant allies, especially not in front of com…pany?"

When Aizen trailed off uncertainly, Grimmjow quirked a brow and followed his line of sight to the orangette. Wine glass raised and about to take a sip, the blunette stopped short, both eyebrows shooting up toward his hairline at the downright bizarre spectacle before him. Was it just his eyes, or was the quirky teen _brushing_ his _hair_ with a _fork_?

When the idle chatter around him suddenly ceased, Ichigo slowed in his ministrations to peer over at Grimmjow – who just so happened to be staring at him like he'd gone and suddenly sprouted his merman tail again. Chancing a quick glimpse in Aizen's direction he was met with much the same bewildered stare and thus immediately set the dinglehopper back where he found it, supreme embarrassment causing him to duck his head and avert his gaze to his lap even though he had absolutely no idea what he had done wrong.

The abrasive sound of a match being struck had never sounded quite so loud in the uncomfortable hush of the banquet hall. Ichigo, having never heard such a noise before, gave into his curiosity and peeked up through his dark lashes at Aizen as he fed a small, flickering flame into what looked suspiciously like a– yes, it was! A snarfblatt!

Aizen couldn't help but notice the way the young male's head snapped up, amber eyes brimming with wonderment at his ornate pipe. With an encourage smile, he held the smoking device out to the inquisitive orangette.

"Do you like it?" he asked, a sense of satisfaction welling up in his chest as he watched an animated grin tilt the boy's mouth. Grimmjow on the other hand barely repressed a groan – damn Aizen and his bloody pipe! He could fucking recite the spiel he was undoubtedly about to launch them into in three… two… "It is rather a fine piece of craftsmanship, if I do say so myself. The wood is varnished mahogany and the bowl made of porcelain. It was actually a gift from the duchess of–"

Grimmjow wasn't entirely sure what happened next, it all happened so fast. One minute he was resting his chin in his palm, dutifully ignoring Aizen as he prattled on about his precious fucking pipe in favor of watching the unorthodox teen as his pretty features lit up whilst holding the smoking implement, a dazzling smile curving his mouth as he raised the mouthpiece toward luscious, soft looking pink lips…

…and the next there was a giant cloud of noxious smoke and dark ash shrouding Aizen's entire face! Well, Grimmjow mused, that certainly was one surefire way to shut the windbag up.

Unable to resist, Grimmjow let out a raucous bark of laughter. "Holy shit, that's fuckin' hilarious! You should see the look on your big sooty face!"

Unohana, who had been standing passively by the sidelines, chose that moment to approach the prince, her face one of joy as she laid a hand upon his shoulder. "Why, Master Grimmjow, that's the first time I've heard you laugh quite so jovially in weeks."

That particular observation made Ichigo smile brightly, whereas Aizen looked rather miffed. Pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket, he set about cleaning his sullied face, idly wondering if the smell of burnt tobacco and smoke would ever again leave his nostrils.

"Ahem, yes. Very amusing," he drawled, tucking the blackened handkerchief back into his jacket. Grasping for an immediate change in topic, he roved his eyes over the only present female. "Unohana, my dear, what's for dinner this evening?"

"Chef Zaraki has been preparing a sumptuous dish in honor of our esteemed guest, his specialty; stuffed crab," the dark-haired woman smiled, only for it to waver at the sound of clattering pans and maniacal laughter ringing out from the direction of the kitchens. "If you'll please excuse me a moment."

Ichigo wrinkled his nose in distaste at the thought of having to eat something he considered to be like kin, but otherwise remained impassive. He knew that humans were fond of turning marine life into delicacies to devour – Poseidon knows his father had lectured him time and time again of the fact – but that didn't mean he was overly keen on the barbaric act himself, even if it would please Grimmjow. Fortunately the prince and the brunette were too busy conversing to notice his apparent discomfort, and Ichigo quickly schooled his expression into one of interest when their attentions broadened to include him.

Unohana returned minutes later wheeling in a small cart carrying three covered meals on decorative silver platters.

"Apologies for the tardiness," she said with a courteous bow. "It would seem that Kenpachi got just a little carried away with his knives and an allegedly errant crab. He's so passionate about his work."

Ichigo cocked a brow at that. _Passionate?_ The man sounded like a raving lunatic! Though judging by the passive look on Aizen's face, and the blasé attitude Grimmjow displayed, Ichigo assumed that the castle was more than accustomed to this Kenpachi guy's knife-wielding antics and chose not to comment on it – not that he _could_ comment on it, even if he wanted to.

"You know, Grimmjow," Aizen said, grinning coyly as Unohana began to serve their meals. "Perhaps our young guest might enjoy seeing some of the sights of the kingdom. Something in the way of a tour, hmm?"

Stirred out of his dream-like trance as he stared deep into shimmering amber orbs, Grimmjow turned to acknowledge the brunette. "Huh? Sorry, Aizen. What was that?"

"Oh for the love of– You can't spend all your time moping about," Aizen hissed in hushed tones. "You need to get out of the palace, do something – have a life!"

With his gaze fixated on the infuriating blunette, Aizen failed to notice the very much _live_ crab cowering down on his plate as he removed the dome shaped lid. Ichigo sure noticed though, and took advantage of the other two male's distracted natures to silently usher the poor crustacean across the table.

"You must get your mind off of this ridiculous fantasy and–"

"Geez, old man, take it easy!" Grimmjow rebuffed. "It's actually not a bad idea, if he's interested that is…"

Darting swiftly under the safety of the orangette's platter lid, the crab barely made it in time before Ichigo slammed the cover back into place, coolly propping his chin up in his palm and smiling nonchalantly as Grimmjow's sapphire gaze landed on him.

"Whaddaya say, kid? Would you like to join me on a tour of my kingdom tomorrow?"

Ichigo positively beamed with delight, amber eyes shining as he nodded his head enthusiastically. Grimmjow returned the grin tenfold and Aizen gave a pleased clap.

"Wonderful!" the brunette exclaimed, happy to see the prince finally looking excited about something other than chasing phantoms. "Now, let's eat before this crab decides to wonder off my plate."

At the sound of metal striking against fine china, Aizen could only stare in total bewilderment at his suspiciously crab-free dish…

* * *

Later that evening, when the sun had sank behind the horizon and the moon bathed the lands in a ethereal, silvery glow, Ichigo found himself in the grand palace gardens surrounded by beautiful, sweet smelling flowers and the happy chorus of chirping crickets.

Lounging lazily in the grass by a small pond near the castle walls, Ichigo watched with a dreamy smile and lidded amber eyes as Grimmjow fooled around with Pantera. The large feline was relishing in the attention lavished upon her, purring and mewing her content as she pawed and jumped all over the blue-haired prince. Ichigo gave a soundless chuckle as Pantera eagerly pounced upon her master, bowling Grimmjow over with a soft thud before attempting to lick his handsome face right off with her sandpaper reminiscent tongue. Grimmjow gave a hearty laugh, catching the frisky cat in a headlock and ruffling her fur in a boorish yet playful manner. Pantera gave a yowl of disapproval before breaking free and leaping agilely to her feet. Grimmjow chuckled at the disgruntled pet as he too picked himself up, dusting down his trousers and fixing his disheveled shirt. Hunkering down, he gave Pantera a generous rub against the sweet spot right behind her ear in apology, the feline instantly melting into the tender touch and purring her pleasure loud enough for even Ichigo to hear, her tail curling around her human's leg as she lovingly rubbed up against him.

Looking up, Grimmjow felt his heart stutter at the sight of the teen gazing over at him, those gorgeous eyes shimmering in the moonlight and youthful features painted in pure relaxation. It made such a breathtaking and serene picture that Grimmjow actually paused in his actions.

Unable to take the full brunt of such an intense look, Grimmjow averted his gaze and clutched at his chest, narrowing his eyes in concentration. What the hell was this feeling? This dizzying rush of warmth that seemed to permeate through to his very soul and caused his heart to swell to uncomfortable proportions in his chest? He had never felt this way about another person before, and even though he had no idea what in hell the emotion _was_, he knew that he never ever wanted it to stop.

Stumbling out of his inner turmoil when Pantera bumped her head against his thigh in search of more affection, Grimmjow blinked and fulfilled her demands whilst offering the younger male across the grass a small wave.

Ichigo started at the friendly gesture, so wrapped up in his own little world that he had completely forgotten that he was essentially gawking at the blunette like some love-sick fool. Gods, Grimmjow probably thought he was a total freak just staring at him like that – if he didn't already after his many embarrassing blunders during dinner, that is.

Giving a clumsy wave of his own in response, Ichigo was somewhat relieved when Grimmjow went back to roughhousing with his pet, allowing him to wallow in his own misery. Dejectedly plucking at the blades of grass by his feet he didn't notice a third presence quietly creeping up behind him until it was too late.

For the very first time since making his pact with the sea demon, Ichigo found himself glad that he no longer possessed a voice as a cold, damp hand latched onto the shirt at his lower back and he opened his mouth in a silent scream, arms flailing and eyes shooting open.

"Psst! Ichigo, ya idiot!" a feminine voice whispered harshly, the firm grip on his clothing the only thing keeping him from bolting back into the security of the palace. "Behind you!"

Heart thundering in his throat, Ichigo peered over his shoulder, his amber orbs widening in shock at the sight of Rukia leaning out over the grass from the rippling pond, her lavender scaled tail concealed from view in the inky depths of the water. Eyes flicking briefly over to Grimmjow, Ichigo was relieved to see that his little performance in amateur theatrics had gone unnoticed as the man pampered his overgrown cat. With an inaudible sigh of relief he discreetly scooted back toward the edge of the pond, allowing Rukia to sink back down until the water was lapping around her moderate bust. Where Ichigo was overjoyed to see his good friend again after such a lousy and awkward start to his mission, Rukia sported a dark scowl.

"What're you deaf as well as stupid now?" she hissed, folding her arms. "I was calling you for like five minutes straight and you totally ignored me! If we weren't on such a tight schedule I'd be giving you a lengthy tongue lashing right now!"

Ichigo couldn't help but grin. Rukia was still Rukia…

Pointing at her general being, then at the water whilst gesticulating wildly and frowning, Ichigo attempted once again to get his message across without the use of speech. Rukia for the most part looked perplexed before she finally cottoned on and answered his unspoken question.

"There's a small hole in the castle wall a meter or so down, and luckily enough the sea flows right through it and into this pool," she told him as she jammed a thumb over her shoulder. "Renji wanted to come and see you too, but his fat, blubbery ass couldn't fit through the gap. Oh boy was he ever _livid_ – it was hilarious."

Ichigo rolled his eyes skyward but grinned all the same. It would seem that some things would never change, regardless as to whether he was around or not. Leaning back on his hands and stretching his long legs out in front of him he was more than content to pass the night away watching Grimmjow horse around with his beloved pet, the two of them emanating such simple joy and camaraderie he couldn't help but smile.

Rukia, being the astute and nosey little mermaid that she was, took notice of those big dewy eyes and goofball grin and decided it was high time they moved things along. It was already closing in on the end of day one, leaving them just _two days_ to achieve their (in Rukia's humble opinion) laughably futile goal.

"So, Ichigo," she hummed softly to get her now human friend's attention. "How're things coming along with the prince? Are you making any progress?"

Ichigo, never once taking his eyes of the blunette, lifted one shoulder in a languid shrug leaving Rukia to wonder if he was even paying attention to her right now.

"Come on, Ichigo, it's time to get your head out of the sand and into the mission at hand! Following the man around like some infatuated guppy isn't going to get you that kiss. We've lost one day already and despite now living in the castle you're no closer to the prince than you ever were before." When Ichigo didn't so much as even twitch in response, Rukia narrowed her eyes and wrenched herself out of the water to smack the lackadaisical orangette upside the head. "Oi! Are you even listening to me? This is important, Ichigo – we're steadily running out of time!"

Taking a moment to recompose herself, the raven-haired mermaid took no notice of the baleful glare Ichigo shot her way whilst gingerly rubbing the back of his head and did what she does best – strategized.

"Okay, we've got to come up with a plan to make the prince kiss you," she began, rubbing her chin in deep contemplation. "You've got'a look your best tomorrow; that means dressing up nice, brushing your hair and, for the love of all things aquatic, no scowling!" The comment in itself made Ichigo glower to which Rukia snapped her fingers. "Yes, _that_. None of that! Now, if the two of you should find yourselves alone there are a few simple tricks you can do to get his attention and hopefully win over his affections… You've got to bat your eyes, like this," she demonstrated with a pretty flutter of her long, dark lashes. "Then you got'a pucker up your lips, like this," here she combined the two, her lips jutting out into a full pout and her eyelashes fanning against porcelain cheeks.

Ichigo thought the whole thing looked kind of ridiculous, but who was he to argue? If it helped in his venture to make Grimmjow fall madly in love with him then he was willing to try just about anything.

"Oh barnacles, here he comes!" Rukia muttered before hurriedly ducking beneath the water. Ichigo snapped his head up just in time to see Grimmjow approach, a deadly swagger to his step that made Ichigo's heart skip a beat and Pantera trotting loyally by his right heel.

"Yo, kid. It's gettin' late. We should really retire for the night if we're to get up early for that tour."

Extending his hand out, Grimmjow helped the teen to his feet, the warmth and silken feeling of the orangette's delicate fingers lingering against his skin long after they broke contact. Stuffing both hands deep into his pocket, he gestured toward the dimly lit castle with his head.

"C'mon, I'll walk ya to your room."

Ichigo gave a bashful smile and a coy inclination of the head before following behind the handsome prince, petting a happily purring Pantera on the head as she pranced alongside him. Grimmjow grinned but said nothing more as they made their way back indoors, a heady rush of excitement turning over in his stomach at the prospect of a whole day alone with the boy tomorrow.

From the shadowed reeves of the pond, large violet eyes watched as the two men ambled toward the majestic palace, a merry smile touching upon her features as they slowly disappeared from view.

"You are hopeless, boy," she sighed with a small shake of the head. "Completely hopeless."

Quietly sinking back beneath the surface, the mermaid swam smoothly down through the water to the small fracture in the castle's defenses and carefully wedged herself back into the familiar territory of the ocean.

Renji, who had been moodily patrolling in front of the (_stupidly tiny_) crevice, promptly shot off after Rukia as she swam by.

"Well? How'd it go? Is he doin' okay?"

"No headway yet," Rukia informed him with a dismissive wave of the hand. "I swear that boy is like a lost cause."

Renji, knowing the petite raven better than she ever gave him credit for, gave his interpretation of a wide, toothy grin. "Heh, so you've got a plan then. Wanna fill me in?"

Concealing a sly little smirk Rukia gave nothing away, simply gesturing for Renji to hurry along. Renji snorted but complied. Oh yeah, she _definitely_ had a plan.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at King Isshin's glorious underwater palace, the bearded merman was restlessly gliding back and forth by one of several windows in his throne room, a troubled frown etching deep into his brow and marring his normally dashing features.

When the small, ruffle necked seahorse suddenly entered Isshin whipped around to face him, his expression a desperate mixture between dread and anticipation. "Any sign of them?"

"No, your Majesty," the seahorse regretfully informed his king. "We've searched everywhere. We've found no trace of your son, or Rukia."

"Keep looking," Isshin demanded, brows knotted in a dark glare and voice laced with fatherly concern. "Leave no shell unturned, no coral unexplored. Let no one in this kingdom sleep until my boy is safe at home!"

With a bone weary sigh and sluggish bow, the seahorse devotedly obeyed. "Yes, sire."

Once the other was out of sight, Isshin collapsed back into his grand coral throne and buried his face into his hand, his features pinched with lament.

"Damn, what have I done?" he cursed himself, thinking of his beautiful boy and grief stricken daughters. "_What have I done?_"

* * *

The next morning Ichigo awoke at the crack of dawn, too excited for what the day could hold to sleep any longer. Not only was he going to be spending the entire day with Grimmjow but he was also going to be able to see so much more of the human world and experience it firsthand. His mind was awash with ideas of what the prince's kingdom could hold... and, of course, what it might hold in store for the two of them.

Slipping out of the ridiculously comfortable bed, Ichigo padded over to the vanity and seated himself before the mirror to scrutinize his appearance. By Rukia's council he had to look his absolute best at every moment if he wanted Grimmjow to kiss him before sunset tomorrow and now that he knew that the object with all the little fine hairs on it, called a _brush, _was what humans used to fix their hair (and _not_ dinglehoppers_) _he could try to use it to straighten out his permanently unruly halo of coral orange strands. Picking up the brush, he inspected it for a moment or two before running it through a lock of his hair that smoothed out evenly and lay flat for a brief second of bliss 'till it popped right back up again.

Huffing despondently, Ichigo set the brush back down and rested his chin on his fists as he continued to assess himself, trying to find at least one single trait of his that Grimmjow could find attractive. What had Rukia said last night about looking a certain way to get someone to kiss you?

_Pucker up your lips like this... and bat your eyelashes like that..._

After watching himself do as she said in the mirror, Ichigo scrunched up his nose in distaste. Who would ever find that face appealing? He wondered if Rukia had ever even kissed anyone herself and sighed, his eyes catching a glimpse of his shark tooth necklace lying underneath the collar of the sleeping clothes Unohana had so kindly laid out for him.

Almost hesitantly, the orangette turned his head to the window adjacent to the vanity, the one with a clear view of the endless sea. His gut wrenched terribly as he realized yet again if he wanted to remain with Grimmjow on land he could never go back or see his family again, however, fortunately a soft knock on the door distracted him from his depressing thoughts and Ichigo stood up to go open the door a crack to see that it was the housekeeper, Unohana, who was smiling gently at him and holding a pile of fabric. Stepping back from the doorway so that the woman could enter the room, he watched as she placed another pile of new clothes for him on the bed and smiled at her, bowing his head to show his gratitude.

"You're welcome, my dear," Unohana said in her soft, motherly voice. "These are the clothes you may wear on your trip throughout the kingdom with Prince Grimmjow. He wishes me to inform you to meet him in the front courtyard in half an hour so you two may depart."

Ichigo nodded though inwardly he was panicking - half an hour couldn't possibly be enough time to thoroughly prepare himself to make the blue-haired prince fall in love with him!

"Is there anything else you will require, dear?" the housekeeper asked and the teenager shook his head no, smiling at the same time so that it was a pleasant refusal. "Very well. Good day, and have fun on your tour." Unohana left the room as gracefully as she'd come, the instant she disappeared beyond the doorway the exact moment Ichigo took to have a minor panic attack.

_Where's Rukia when you need her? _he lamented, pacing back and forth in the palace's guest room and wringing his hands. He'd never had this feeling before, so wracked with nerves and yet completely exhilarated. Then again, he'd never been in love before, either. Well, at least he couldn't make a fool out of himself by saying something stupid or talking too much. _Though I still can't laugh at my own joke,_ Ichigo thought bitterly, plopping down onto the bed and casting a cursory glance at the folded pieces of clothing beside him. Now was probably a good time to start figuring out how to put them on, and correctly. After dinner the night before, he couldn't appear to be an uncultured clutz yet again.

It took thirty-two minutes to decipher the puzzle that was human clothing but when he was finally finished Ichigo supposed that he'd gotten it right this time. The collared, long-sleeved shirt the color of seafoam had been easy enough to get into. The pants, a similar style to what Grimmjow wore only a bit more form-fitting and made of deep navy fabric, he'd had a bit of trouble with as he'd attempted to put both pant legs on at the same time. The lace-up vest the same dark blue as his pants and pair of black buckled boots had been the real problem, Ichigo basically having to teach himself how to tie a knot and fasten a buckle the reason he was a whole two minutes late showing up to where he was supposed to meet the prince.

His gaze immediately found where Grimmjow was standing in the middle of the palace's grand front courtyard waiting for him next to a contraption that reminded him of his family's chariots, only this thing had wheels and a bizarre-looking animal with a long face attached to it by reins. As he approached the blunette, who was a stunning sight to behold even in his 'casual' garb, Ichigo tried to appear apologetic for his tardiness with a sheepish smile and desperately hoped that the prince wasn't strict about punctuality (it never had been the orangette's strong suit.)

Grimmjow had been wondering if the orange-haired boy had gotten lost in his opulent and spacious home when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Turning around, he saw his guest walking towards the carriage as if expecting to be scolded like a young child would, his naivete never ceasing to be somehow charming to Grimmjow's puzzlement. He wasn't entirely sure why he was always finding the mute boy so endearing. It had to be because he could definitely admit that he found the shipwreck victim undeniably gorgeous, especially today as the new clothes Unohana had picked out suited him brilliantly. The different shades of blue contrasted alluringly against the peachy tone of his skin, chocolate brown eyes, and radiant tangerine hair.

"Ready to take that tour of my kingdom?" Grimmjow said, grinning as he pretended not to notice the time and was pleased when this seemed to successfully cheer up the orange-haired teen, his lovely face brightening up as he nodded emphatically. The prince gestured in the direction of the carriage, signaling for the boy to hop in.

Ichigo hesitated before stepping into the carriage and slowly lowering himself onto the seat, watching in his peripheral vision as Grimmjow casually jumped into the strange transportation apparatus and snatched up the reins, cracking them sharply in the air. The whole thing lurched forward almost instantly, the animal trotting steadily and hauling the carriage through the massive palace gates. Ichigo was fascinated by how the contraption bumped up and down along the dirt road that led from the royal home to a whole colony of buildings up ahead in the distance. And since he couldn't ask, he decided to satisfy his curiosity of how this thing worked on his own.

Needless to say, Grimmjow's brows furrowed even as his eyes widened as he looked to his right to see the boy leaning upside down from the back of the carriage, not knowing Ichigo was simply inspecting how the spoked circles were all connected along the bottom and the four-legged animal even appeared to have metal on its feet. Above him, Grimmjow angled his own body as far back as he could go while still holding the reins to see for himself what in the hell the kid was doing. Yet in the next second he pushed himself right side up and back inside the carriage, sitting properly in his seat as if nothing had happened.

While most people would find the boy's... _quirks_ odd and unsettling, the blue-haired prince couldn't help himself from finding the other more and more intriguing. The kid didn't seem to hide anything yet there was an undeniable air of enticing mystery about him and Grimmjow wanted to know more.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was taking in the amazing view of the kingdom, which was set on a hill with winding cobblestone roads lined by white washed stone structures of varying sizes and shapes and roofed by red tiles like the prince's castle. It was the most incredible thing he'd ever seen (well, second to the man beside him, of course.) The dirt road carried them to the entrance of the kingdom proper where there were two guards on either side that bowed and smiled as they passed through the double gates. Being that he once was a prince himself, Ichigo instinctually smiled and waved politely back at them.

Not ten yards into the kingdom proper there were crowds of people, throngs of men, women, and children just going about their daily lives cheerfully. It was apparent that Grimmjow ensured the happiness of his people and that fact made Ichigo's heart skip a beat, his dark amber orbs slitting over just the slightest to check out the man beside him, who was guiding the carriage to a stable close by the entrance gate.

They rolled to a stop in front of said stable, Grimmjow gracefully leaping from the carriage and flipping the stable hand a golden coin, knowing the worker would know what to do with the horse and buggy. It was a moment before he remembered himself, or his companion rather, and turned back around to see him tentatively standing up and looking around as if trying to figure out what to do.

Finding this curious but no less endearing, Grimmjow didn't hesitate to reach out and grip onto the other's hips, lifting him up and out of the carriage. It was only when he set the boy down and saw the blossom pink flush on his cheekbones that the prince realized it might've been a bit of a bold move. "Uh, so," he coughed a tad awkwardly, something he never did. "Where would you like to go first?"

Ichigo, still reeling from that warmly welcomed yet fleeting physical contact with his love, scanned the entire area and felt entirely overwhelmed with enthusiasm. He wanted to go everywhere, explore everything and learn whatever he possibly could. But where to start? Hmm...

That was when he spotted, across the courtyard with the statue of an ancient monarch, a building whose windows showcased more books than he'd ever seen in his life. Eagerly pointing there, he instinctively grabbed Grimmjow's wrist and pulled him along to burst through that store's door.

The blue-haired prince didn't think he'd seen a young man with wider, more child-like eyes full of awe and wonder than he did this one's. It was if he'd never seen a book before in his life and Grimmjow felt the tiniest of smirks make his lips twitch. If only more people could show that kind of sparkling energy. Perhaps then he would've long found a wedded partner before now.

That subject making his gut churn, Grimmjow turned his full attention on the orange-haired boy who was stately walking down the aisles of volumes as if he wished to read every title. Suddenly, the kid paused as something captured his interest and hesitantly put out a hand to touch whatever it was.

_Snap!_

The sound of a fan slapping closed right where Ichigo's fingers would've been caused him to jump about two feet in the air and back, turning large eyes on a strange man with curly, ivory hair that didn't move and whose face was caked in some sort of white substance, save for his cheeks that were stained red and a little circle that was drawn on above his lower lip. "There vill be absolutely _no _touching of ze first editions, _boy_," the man said in an accented voice that sounded falsified even to Ichigo's ears. "Do you understand or do I 'ave to draw you a picture?"

Ichigo opened his mouth on instinct, wanting to tell this ridiculous man off, but he just ended up opening and closing it a few times until he gave up completely and huffed in defeat, turning away from that book that had caught his attention quite vividly.

"How much is the damn book?"

The orangette's head popped up to witness Grimmjow squared off with the store owner, who was now reduced to a simpering fool. "My apologies, Prince Grimmjow, Your Most Gracious Majesty, I 'ad no idea -"

"The book, if you please," the blunette cut him off, withdrawing from his pocket a bag of gold Ichigo knew had to be worth quite an amount judging from the owner's shocked, pale face.

"Vell, it _is _a first edition, Your Grace," the powdered man stammered.

"Here," Grimmjow grunted, plopping the sack full of gold into the other man's hand and then snatching up the volume Ichigo had had his eye on. Whilst the bookstore owner stared at his small fortune with gleaming, beady eyes, the human prince placed a hand on Ichigo's elbow and led him out of the musty store back into the fresh air.

Then he held the book out for the boy casually as if he hadn't just spent a _lot _of money on something Ichigo had only just shown faint interest in. Refuting that kind of generosity, the former merman shook his head and held his palms out. He couldn't accept something so extravagant.

Grimmjow, however, wasn't having it. He'd gotten pissed when that powdery old man had treated the orange-haired boy like that and wanted to put him in his place, so he had and now he had a book he didn't need so why couldn't the stubborn little thing just take it? "It's okay, I want you to have it, " he said. "Something to remember your trip here when you go home."

For some reason something he said made the light in the mute beauty's eyes dim and mentally kicked himself in the rear for doing so, but the other did hesitantly reach up and take the book from his hands. "There, see? Not that hard," Grimmjow teased and the other man smiled the slightest bit up at him, which suited his fair face much better than those furly scowls he saw all the time. "Romeo & Juliet, though? I figured you'd be less of a sappy romance and more of an action/adventure sort of guy."

_I thought so, too, and... then I saw you, _Ichigo thought, shrugging in response to the other's statement. He looked down at his first real book not water stained or crumpled or rotting away into nothing. He was able to read some of the words like "Romeo & Juliet" and "First Edition" but he knew it would take him months to be able to read and understand the entire volume, especially since it was written in verse. He could barely even read half of the alphabet it was written in, the merfolk version much different than this one.

He spun the book over, surprised to find an illustration there of two lovers intertwined in a passionate kiss with the celestial sun beaming behind them in a beatific portrait. It only served to remind Ichigo that he had today and tomorrow to get Grimmjow to fall in love with and kiss him or else all would be lost.

"So, where to next?"

In genuine Grimmjow fashion, the prince was able to take the other's mind off of everything else except them and them alone. Ichigo shrugged again, showing that he was easy to please and ready to go wherever the blunette wanted to take him.

"All right, let's go up this way. There's a bistro where we can sit down and have lunch," Grimmjow directed, gesturing toward one of the pathways that ran through the quaint kingdom. "You do like French, right?"

Ichigo nodded and smiled brightly, not having a single clue what the man was talking about.

They strode side by side up the street that led to another courtyard, this one with a fountain that spouted water from a statue of two fish intertwined. Meanwhile, Ichigo was startled at how normally the townspeople acted around their reigning monarch, basically ignoring his presence altogether as if he were just one of them. Merfolk were quite the opposite as the former prince of Atlantis recalled the endless list of formalities he had to navigate through in his daily life due to being from nobility. However, he decidedly preferred Grimmjow's kingdom's take on the subject, especially thankful that it allowed them to spend as much time together as possible without everyone sparring for the blue-haired prince's attentions.

"Well, here it is," Grimmjow announced casually, waving a hand up at the sign above a small shop with large windows and tables and chairs set up directly outside. "Do you want to sit-" he paused as Ichigo plopped down on one of the cast iron chairs nearest to them and appeared to be waiting for something to happen. "Okay, outside it is. I'll be right back, so just sit tight."

Whilst Grimmjow entered the bistro, Ichigo surveyed the excitement of the outdoor market set up just across the courtyard. Stands were filled with all kinds of fruits, vegetables, breads, and meats and he could vaguely hear customer and vendor haggling over prices. It was only until he laid eyes on the last stand that his enthusiasm plummeted, feeling sick at the sight of dead fish and other seafood laid out for purchase, some even hacked up into different morsels for sale separately. He clasped a hand over his mouth as his face turned slightly green and he tore his gaze away from the horrifying scene.

"Whoa, you all right?" Grimmjow asked, a bit alarmed at the sickened look on his guest's lovely face, who nodded affirmatively and seemed to shake whatever it was off whilst his dark amber eyes scanned the brown paper bag the blunette held. "Yeah, I didn't know what you like so I just got one of everything. Oh and... I couldn't resist," the man said, withdrawing from the bag a round piece of black cloth.

At Ichigo's confused expression, Grimmjow elaborated. "It's called a beret. You know, a hat?" he explaining, swiftly whipping it out over that head full of tangerine spikes. The boy looked bemused for a second and with the beret atop his crown of orange hair was quite possibly the cutest thing Grimmjow had ever seen.

Ichigo reached up to feel the 'beret', unused to having his head covered yet not so rude as to take it off as it _had_ been a gift. He awkwardly gave Grimmjow a thumbs up to which the man chortled heartily, the sound rumbling from deep within his chest and sending the orangette's heart aflutter. "Glad you like it. Now, let's eat."

The food, of course, was all unfamiliar to Ichigo, but he dutifully tasted everything his beloved had bought for them. He found he didn't like most cheese, except for something called '_Brie' _which he shamelessly devoured. The baguettes he thought were to die for, warm, crispy on the outside, and soft on the inside. He also enjoyed something called a 'salad', which wasn't too different from the seaweed dishes he'd eaten all his life in Atlantis.

It appeared that Grimmjow was more of a meat eater, scarfing down a 'sandwich' that had four different kinds of meat and three cheeses. Ichigo thought that the man was still charming even as he choked down a huge hunk of food, which would let anybody anywhere know that he truly was in love.

Evidently when one finished their meal here on land, they would then celebrate by eating something else called 'dessert.' Grimmjow took him to another shop a few doors down that sold a popular sweet treat called 'ice cream' that came in different flavors and was scooped into a holder that you could also eat. To say Ichigo was eager to try some would've been the understatement of the millennia.

"So, what flavor do ya want?" Grimmjow asked him. Not prepared for the question, Ichigo just pointed at the closest tub of ice cream that was a medium brown color. "Nice choice, I'll have that, too."

They strode back outside with their 'cones' of ice cream in hand, Grimmjow already wolfing his down and the younger man staring at the treat from all sides, trying to decide how to best eat it. However, he hadn't taken so much as a lick when he heard a group of young boys laughing, the sound unpleasant and cruel.

Ichigo glanced over by the fountain where a girl in pigtails much tinier than the boys who surrounded her was staring sadly at her fallen ice cream cone, her dessert clearly pushed down onto the ground by one of the older kids. Scowling at the sight of the bullying that apparently existed in both worlds, Ichigo strode right up to the small girl and the boys teasing her.

Bending down, he offered his untouched ice cream cone to her, smiling softly to show that it was okay. "Hey mister, mind your own business!" one of the bolder boys sneered at him, shocked when the orange-haired teenager didn't abide by the empty threat and instead stood up to his full height which was a good six inches taller. However, it was the furious glare and intent to punish in those brandy brown orbs that struck fear into the spineless bully.

"-W-whatever, let's-... let's go, guys," he stammered to the rest of his group and they all promptly took off running, a satisfied smirk crossing Ichigo's lips.

Grimmjow watched in amazement as the teen turned back to the small girl and again offered her his own ice cream, which she took with a shaky thanks and a brief hug around the orange-haired boy's legs before skipping away cheerfully.

He hadn't thought his opinion of his mute guest could get much higher and yet it just had. "That was nice of you," Grimmjow said, walking up behind the other male who stared at the ground and shrugged his shoulders again. "Here, have some of mine," the blunette insisted and upon foreseeing a polite refusal, pushed the half-eaten chocolate ice cream cone into the other's hands. "Go on, try it. Best you'll ever have, trust me."

Ichigo slowly stuck out his tongue to swipe at the creamy sweet substance running down the cone in the hot sun, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he licked his lips. This was the best thing he'd ever tasted!

Seeing the expression of such simple joy on the boy's face, Grimmjow happily allowed him to chow down the rest of the chocolate cone. Not to mention, he wasn't particularly opposed to seeing someone so dazzlingly attractive use their tongue in such a way, either.

Ichigo had just finished his (Grimmjow's) ice cream when he heard it - the faint melody of music. He recognized it immediately, it was the same tune that had played on his music box before his father had destroyed it. Unthinkingly hooking his arm around the older man's burly one, Ichigo dragged them through the streets in search of the music's source.

They found it in the kingdom's main square, stopping along the sidelines that had formed around a large space where couples were merrily dancing with each other, the musicians located at the far end of that makeshift dance floor. That sweet melody made Ichigo sigh heavily without realizing it, that wistfulness for the chance to twirl and swirl about in the arms of a lover just like the statuettes in his music box coming back full force.

"So I suppose you wanted to dance?" Grimmjow surmised, grinning toothily.

Ichigo shook his head furiously, waving his hands to affirm that was definitely incorrect. He'd just learned to walk yesterday, how was he supposed to _dance_? "Do you not know how?" Grimmjow somehow guessed and Ichigo s somberly shook his head no, avoiding the other's searching gaze. "Well, there's no time better to learn from the best, you know."

Before Ichigo knew what was happening he was being hauled into the throng of dancers, Grimmjow apparently unable to take no for an answer. He tried to pull away desperately yet the blue-haired prince was quite a bit stronger than he was and so he found himself flush against Grimmjow's body, one hand grasped in the other's while his left lay on the man's shoulder, who gripped him around the waist in a gentle yet firm hold.

"Look, it's easy," Grimmjow comforted the silently panicking male, leading them back one step then one to the side then one forward. "See? One, two, three, one, two, three..."

They did this for a while, the orange-haired newbie gradually getting the hang of it and definitely starting to love it, this carefree feeling one could only experience on legs. Ichigo's eyes were wide as sand dollars and yet a beaming smile slowly appeared on his lips. He was really doing it. He was _dancing_. "Now, a twirl, ready?" Grimmjow said, spinning the orangette out before he was ready and causing him to stumble.

However, Ichigo never fell as Grimmjow caught him around the hips and lifted him off the ground up into the air to spin him around. When his feet touched back down to solid ground, the two of them stilled, sapphire blue and chocolate brown locked together and it felt for both of them that the very earth moved in that moment and never would they want to look away.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Grimmjow taunted playfully, he the only one able to break the silence. Glancing up at the sky to see it was nearly sundown, he reluctantly gave in to the fact he couldn't keep his guest out all night without seeming improper. "I guess it's time to head back... Say, do ya wanna drive?"

As their buggy careened down the dirt road heading to the castle at breakneck speed, Grimmjow pondered if letting the orangette steer the reins was the best idea. Especially when the giant pit in the road came up and the other showed no sign of slowing down. In fact, he flicked the reins to urge the horse on even faster and Grimmjow tried to remember some sort of prayer now that death was imminent when the carriage's wheels left the ground behind the leaping steed.

They soared through the air for one heartstopping moment and then crashed back down on the other side of the pit, barely making it. Grimmjow let out a soft sigh of relief and saw that the brown-eyed beauty beside him looked like he was having the time of his life. For some reason the prince wanted to keep that look and the happiness it belied there, so he shrugged and folded his arms behind his head in order to relax in the ride back to the castle.

Meanwhile, in the shallow waters surrounding the pit in the road a red and black fin snaked closer to a very frustrated mermaid.

Rukia couldn't believe Ichigo had departed the area where she could watch over him and his 'dates' with that prince, leaving her here to deal with his two insufferable, idiotic friends - like the one currently surfacing his head above the water.

"Any kissing yet?" Renji asked.

"No, not yet! Now stop asking me every five seconds!" Rukia hissed, squinting to see in the distance Ichigo and his prince disappearing through the castle walls. Just then, her second biggest annoyance swooped down from overhead lackadaisically.

"Yo, Renji!" Urahara called down to the two sea creatures. "Any kissing?"

"No, not yet," the shark answered glumly.

"Hmm, well they better get crackin'," the seagull stated the obvious. "You know, that prince takes an awful lot of row boat trips out to the lagoon..."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rukia demanded, slinking back under the water along with Renji as Urahara flew overhead en route to said lagoon.

* * *

"Hope ya don't mind coming out here with me," Grimmjow said, currently wading knee deep in the lagoon by the castle and drawing a small row boat out onto the water. "It's just if I hear Aizen talk about... _marriage _one more time, I swear I'll clock him upside the head with that damn pipe of his."

Ichigo nodded in understanding, surveying the natural beauty of the lagoon they had entered. There were large weeping willows hung with their curtains of greenery, lily pads gently floating on the water's surface, reeds and tall grass making perfect homes for frogs and bright pink flamingos. It was also right after dusk so the scene was rather... romantic, if you will.

He clambered into the boat after Grimmjow had pulled it adrift, the latter handling the pair of oars and rowing them out further on the water. Ichigo fidgeted with his sleeves nervously, sensing that this was definitely a perfect place for him to finally get that kiss but he had no idea what to do. Poseidon below, how he wished he could talk to Grimmjow for just a few minutes, have just one conversation with the man. Perhaps then the blunette could see something in him that was worthwhile.

Safely behind one of the willow's trunks, Ichigo's three friends huddled down to spy on the two men in the boat. "Move over... move your big feathers, I can't see a thing," Renji demanded of Urahara, who completely ignored the shark as he'd chosen to take matters into his own wings.

"Nothing is happening," he concluded, shaking his head. "Only one day left, and that boy ain't puckered up once. Okay. All right, this calls for a little vocal romantic stimulation. Stand back."

Urahara massaged his throat muscles and stretched out his neck, Rukia seeing what was about to happen yet unable to act fast enough stop the bird's miserable wailing from drifting out over the lagoon. "Christ, somebody should find that thing and put it out of its misery," Grimmjow said, wincing at the awful sound.

"Dear Poseidon, I'm surrounded by amateurs!" Rukia descried as she clamped Urahara's beak shut with her bare hands. "You want something done, you've got to do it yourself. First, we have to create the mood..."

The mermaid shoved the seagull under a pile of grass and leaves, slipping silently through the water and ducking under to locate a decaying, ancient log covered in moss sitting on the floor of the lagoon. "Renji, you big barnacle, get over here and help me move this!" she snapped at the shark, who rolled his eyes but swam over to the brunette where they both pushed against the log into the perfect place, angled toward the largest weeping willow. Then she ripped off a piece of thick reed to tap against a fallen branch, keeping a rhythm she knew would call to the lagoon's swarm of fireflies like some sort of spell, the glowing insects forming a wide circle inside the willow's rounded curtain of cascading foliage.

So when the row boat rocked against the poised log, Ichigo and Grimmjow were guided directly inside the enchanting scenery. Rukia grinned in triumph. It didn't get any more romantic than that. They'd be all over each other in no time.

"Now kiss him!" she whispered eagerly, ducking under the water quickly when the blue-haired prince glanced over his shoulder.

"Did you hear something?" Grimmjow asked warily to which the orangette replied with a simple shake of his head and slight frown, even though he'd spotted his friend aways over not seconds beforehand. "You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name. Heh - maybe I could guess it. Is it, err, Milton? Okay, no, how about David? Robert?"

Ichigo stuck his tongue out at that last guess, yet knowing there was no way Grimmjow could ever guess his name in a million years. He was therefore lucky he had as good a friend as Rukia, who surfaced just up to her chin. "_Ichigo. His name is Ichigo,"_ she hissed under her breath.

"Ichigo?" Grimmjow repeated, looking around for the source of the noise but stopped once he saw the orange-haired beauty nodding vigorously, even going so far as to clasp their hands together. "Ichigo? Well, that's kinda pretty... Okay, _Ichigo_."

Brushing off being referred to in any fashion as 'pretty', Ichigo silently rejoiced that now Grimmjow knew his name and had said it in that dulcet, deep voice of his. It was even better than he'd ever imagined. Actually, the sound called to him like a hypnotic symphony and Ichigo leaned forward, following only his instinct as he lowered his eyelids to half-mast and parted his lips.

The sight of the gorgeous orangette he now knew as Ichigo leaning into him had Grimmjow completely entranced as well, those glittering brandy eyes speaking to something primal deep inside him. And those lips, so luscious and red, they were just begging to be kissed...

They were an inch apart when the boat suddenly and violently tipped totally over, both men falling into the water with a great splash. Unable to swim without his tail and fins, Ichigo sputtered and struggled to remain afloat until Grimmjow grabbed hold of him, steadying them both with their heads above the water. "Whoa, hang on, I gotcha," the blunette said, swimming them over to the shallow end near the shore.

Just below the water's surface, two hammerheads - one black, one white - cackled and bumped fins in victory. However, fathoms below their owner was not so thrilled, sharp ebony nails clawing against the outer rim of his floating orb. Shirosaki was furious, his gold on black eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets and his pointed teeth bared in outrage.

"Tha' was a close one - _too close. _Tha' lil' tramp!" he cursed the too beautiful for his own good sea prince as he raked his fingernails through his long, ivory locks. "'Oh, 'e's betta than I thought. A' this rate, he'll be kissin' my lil' pet by sunset fer sure. Well, 's time Shirosaki took matters inta 'is own fins!" The sea demon barked in laughter while he threw various potion bottles over his shoulders, looking for the specific ones he'd need for the spell that would set everything back on course.

Clutching them in his moon white hands, Shiro slammed the bottles into his sea cauldron, puffs of smoke and sparks flying around him. "Isshin's son will be mine!" he shrieked hysterically in his distorted voice, curling a hand around the black skull pendant he always wore, watching in manic delight as a golden mist traveled up from inside the potion into the black magic jewelry. "An' then I'll make 'im writhe!" he shouted, his voice losing its distortion and taking on a more pleasing tone, a melodic baritone he'd recently stolen from a certain lovesick orangette.

His body began to shift as well as Ichigo's own laughter tinged with insanity rang throughout the demon's cavern. Long, porcelain hair shortened and darkened, eyes changing to a sea green color with normal white sclera, and china white skin tanned to a healthy glow, the overall change making him appear as just another attractive teenage boy that would soon make his appearance at that prince's castle.

"I'll see him wriggle like a worm on a hook while his precious little boy succumbs to my every desire, hah!" Ichigo's voice screamed for all to hear. "With Daddy out of the picture you'll be mine little prince, together forever as I rule the sea as king! Ahahahah!"

...

Miles and miles above on land, Grimmjow was staring out at the ocean from one of his castle's balcony, a cloak wrapped around his shoulders as the air chilled once the sun went down.

To be completely honest, he was thinking of his mystery man yet again, the Siren who'd saved him from a watery grave and comforted him upon awakening on the beach with that most beautiful of voices. He knew that voice meant something to him that even he didn't understand, like it was a part of something much bigger than himself. It was perfect and yet unattainable. He would never hear that intoxicatingly angelic voice again and he supposed he had to get used to it, however reluctantly.

Behind him Aizen stepped onto the balcony to join his charge who was so obviously lusting after that dream of a voice and its owner. It frustrated the older man how blind the prince could be.

"Grimmjow, have you ever heard of the expression 'still waters run deep'?" Aizen asked, coming to stand beside the blunette. "I find it to be quite truthful - that though things in this world may seem... _silent _there is much more under the surface than you could ever imagine. I believe this might pertain particularly to our lovely guest, wouldn't you agree?"

"Get to the point, Aizen," the prince said roughly, hating it when his ward spoke in riddles.

"Well, if I may say, far better than any dream man is one of flesh and blood, one warm and caring, and right before your eyes..." Aizen trailed off, his gaze wandering over Grimmjow's head as he strode back inside.

Following the man's line of vision, Grimmjow spied up upon the highest balcony stood Ichigo, dressed in his borrowed pyjamas. The boy immediately appeared flustered, blushing and waving tentatively before turning and rushing back into the guest room. A rare, genuine smile spread across Grimmjow's face and he began making his way up toward Ichigo's room. Aizen was right. Why would he need to waste time chasing perfection when it was already right in front of him?

"_Grimmjow..." _a voice sang out to him, stopping him dead in his tracks. "_Grimmjow..."_

That was it. _The _voice. The musical, angelic voice that haunted him like an ever present spirit - existing but not really there.

He rushed back to the balcony's railing, peering through the misted air along the shoreline and making out a figure. They were wearing something that glowed bright gold in the darkness of night and looking directly at it made Grimmjow feel as if something were being sucked out of him.

He reeled back, clutching his head and trying to rid himself of whatever was entering his chest, his heart, his soul, fighting back fiercely. It was slithering inside of his very core.

"_Grimmjow, come to me. Listen to my voice..." _

And then he was lost completely, golden dust reflecting in his blue orbs.

* * *

That next morning was glorious, bright, sunny, and cheerful news spreading throughout the kingdom, the contents of which had spread to the ears of one hat-wearing seagull.

"Ichigo! Ichigo,wake up!" Urahara swooped downwards over the castle's turret where his friend's room was located, the window left wide open for him to fly in easily. Landing on the bed, he flapped his wings rapidly in his excitement. Bleary brandy brown eyes blinked open at the harsh awakening, Ichigo sitting up as Urahara grabbed his hand with his wings and shook it up and down vigorously. "I just heard the news! Congratulations, kiddo, we did it!"

Ichigo quirked a brow, utterly confused about what the bird was talking about.

"Right, as if you don't know," Urahara said slyly and the teenager rubbed his eyes, hoping that this was something actually important if he had to get up this early. "The whole town's buzzin' about the prince gettin' himself hitched this afternoon! You know, he's getting married! You silly sidewalker!"

_What? Hitched as in... married? Could he really... Oh my Poseidon! _Ichigo thought, jaw dropping to the floor. He just couldn't believe it, even if Grimmjow would do something as insane as prepare a wedding without asking first. "I just wanted to wish you luck. I'll catch you later, I wouldn't miss it!" Urahara cried joyously, soaring back out the window and into the sky.

Happiness stronger than any he'd ever experienced flooded throughout Ichigo and he jumped out of bed, darting for the door while still wearing his pyjamas and only pausing for a quick second to try and fix his hair in the mirror, but that was hopeless, anyway. He sprinted down the stairs and to the hallway that was structured like a balcony above the main foyer.

But he stopped short at what he saw down below. Or rather, _who _he saw.

There in the spacious foyer was Grimmjow, dressed in royal blue finery with medals and a sash decorating his coat, and there was Aizen, too, though he was donning his everyday black attire. What was really the kicker was the strange boy around his own age who was draped against Grimmjow's side as if... as if they were a couple.

He was handsome, though slight and standing at about an inch or so shorter than Ichigo himself. The stranger also had wavy, chestnut brown hair that complemented his wide sea green eyes and aristocratic features. Who was he? Could he... could he possibly be the prince's chosen partner? Ichigo felt sick to his stomach, misery consuming his whole being.

"Well, Grimmjow, it appears that I was mistaken. This mystery man of yours does, in fact, exist. And - and he is lovely. Congratulations, my dear," Aizen said, directing that last part toward the stranger. Indignation and rage fired up within Ichigo at hearing someone else was claiming to be him. _He _was the one who'd saved Grimmjow!

"We wish to be married as soon as possible," the prince ordered stiffly, every word he said breaking the orangette's heart one tiny bit more.

"Oh, yes, of course, my dear boy, but these things do take time."

"This afternoon, Aizen. The wedding ship departs at sunset."

"Very well, Grimmjow. As you wish."

The burning tears and choked sobs came then. Unable to do anything from losing the love of his life without the gift of speech, Ichigo ran off, his heart broken, his soul crushed, and his life lost.

Little did he know that Grimmjow's newfound love was currently cupping a black skull pendant in one hand, a devious smirk curling his thin lips. He'd seen the boy running away in tears and satisfaction was his as he laid his head on his husband-to-be's shoulder lovingly. Everything would go exactly the way he wanted.

* * *

Sunset inevitably came, its appearance the end of everything for Ichigo. He would never get to spend his life with Grimmjow or be part of his world. No, as soon as the sun set he would belong to the Sea Demon forever and there was nothing he could do about it.

Currently he was watching the wedding ship sail off toward the horizon curled up on the dock, arms hugging his knees and staring blankly at the vessel taking his beloved farther and farther away. He couldn't cry anymore, all his tears shed upon his pillow. Though Rukia and Renji were mere feet away, floating in the water, they offered no words or gestures of comfort for it was far past the point for that.

Urahara, who still hadn't heard that Grimmjow's new love was not in fact Ichigo, was soaring overhead the wedding ship and hoping to catch the former sea prince to wish him luck before the ceremony. Nevertheless, he was shocked to hear what was without a doubt Ichigo's voice humming a distorted tune and descended to beside the boat, where one of the port windows was open so he could see the brown-haired young man inside.

He was dressed in a white suit and pinning a black cravat around his neck, looking very much like he was preparing himself for his own wedding. "What a lovely little groom I'll make. My dear, I'll look divine," he simpered to himself in the mirror in Ichigo's voice, tilting it back so Urahara could see the reflection. "Things are working out to my ultimate design. Soon I'll have that little orange-haired merman and the ocean will be mine!"

Hysterical cackling followed the proclamation, the image in the mirror depicting the Sea Demon's true form laughing in twisted glee at his plan's success. "The Sea Demon..." Urahara muttered under his breath, whipping around back in the direction of the dock. He had to tell Ichigo!

"Ichigo! Ichigo, Ichigo!" he shouted from above the dock, diving down to where the boy was huddled on the edge and now looking at him with empty, vacant eyes. "I was flying- well, of course, I was flying, and I saw that the Sea Demon's on that weddin' ship, talking with a set of stolen pipes! Do you hear what I'm telling you? The prince is marrying the Sea Demon in _disguise_!"

"Are you sure about this?" Rukia pressed the seagull.

"Have I ever been wrong? I mean, when it's important!"

"So what are we gonna do, damn it!" Renji growled in frustration,

Ichigo gazed over at the horizon, the celestial orb of the sun almost touching the ocean.

"_Before the sun sets on the third day..."_

The other three were startled when Ichigo suddenly dived into the sea, struggling to swim like he used to but barely treading water and the ship sailing farther away with every passing second. He had to get to that boat in time, not to stop himself from becoming Shirosaki's slave but save Grimmjow from marrying that monster.

Thinking quickly, Rukia reached up to untie a wine barrel from where it had been left on the deck so that it rolled over the edge. "Ichigo, grab hold of that!" she ordered and Ichigo did so, holding out the loose end of the rope to the red and black shark swimming beside him. "Renji, hold onto that rope and get him to that boat as fast as your fins can carry you."

"Right! Let's go, Ichi," the shark said determinedly, gripping the barrel's rope between his teeth and beginning to propel himself and his cargo through the water at top speed.

"I've got to see the Sea King," Rukia said to herself. "He must know about this!"

"Wait, what about me?" Urahara questioned.

"You - find a way to stall that wedding!" the mermaid ordered like a drill sergeant, dipping underneath the frothy waves in order to find King Isshin before anything could happen.

"Stall the wedding, hmm..."

Every sea creature in the area heard Urahara's call for help in the following minutes, birds of all species, crustaceans, starfish, sea lions, and dolphins all heeding the cry for help to name just a few. With the seagull leading them forth to wage an all out attack, they gained on the ship in record speed.

On said ship, 'Tensa' and Grimmjow were arm in arm walking down the aisle covered in flower petals and lined with all of their noble guests. Typical violin-based matrimonial music played as they walked stately towards the altar, where the ancient priest in elaborate pastoral garb awaited them. Among the guests was Pantera, her feline teeth bared as she snarled at the man her owner was marrying, knowing something was wrong with him. 'Tensa' gave a swift kick to the poor cat, Pantera's whine ignored by her bespelled master.

Grimmjow didn't do anything that he wasn't ordered to do under his spell.

"Dearly beloved..." the officiant started as about half a mile behind the ship Renji and Ichigo swam on, desperate to reach it in time.

"Don't worry, Ichi, we're gonna make it," Renji insisted, despite the clear view of the sun almost about to touch the horizon and end everything.

"Let's see, do you, Prince Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, take Tensa to be your lawfully wedded husband, for as long as you both shall live?" the priest said and for a moment too long he went unanswered. Mentally cursing the blue-haired brute for being so damn stubborn, Shirosaki influxed more of his power into the spell he had over Grimmjow.

"I do," the man said finally, tonelessly.

"Eh, and do you- "

A swarm of blue birds led by Urahara himself suddenly zoomed down toward the ship deck, causing Shiro to duck low in order to avoid being hit by the blasted animals. However, they came back around and shot through his legs, his powers limited while in this form and therefore unable to kill them all. The guests all gasped and dove for cover as the birds were then joined by sea lions hopping over the railing into the party.

Pantera bounced about cheerfully, mewling in pleasure as pelicans dumped mouthfuls of seawater on the disguised demon. Starfish then began pelting 'Tensa' with their own bodies, one sealing over his mouth so his screams of fury were silenced.

"Then by the power..." the old as dirt priest continued on, utterly oblivious to the chaos erupting from all sides.

"Get away from me you slimy little-" 'Tensa' shrieked, ripping the starfish off of his mouth and body yet he was then vaulted up into the air by one of the sea lions who bounced him up and down on the tip of his nose. Busy with the animal assault, Shirosaki had no idea Ichigo had reached the boat and was presently climbing his way up to the deck, relentless in his quest to save Grimmjow, who still stood motionless by the altar.

As 'Tensa' was thrown into the massive white and pink wedding cake, Ichigo pulled himself up over the railing at the same time dolphins jumped up into the air to squirt 'Tensa' with sprays of water. He barely had time to shriek in fearsome rage when Urahara flew right up to his face and screeched piercingly. "Oh, why you little-!" he shouted, wrapping his hands around the bird's neck and throttling him.

In the struggle, Urahara's beak snagged the black skull pendant around 'Tensa's neck and coming quickly to the seagull's aid, Pantera opened wide and chomped down on the demon in disguise's rear end, earning a shrieking roar from him. The cord on which the pendant was strung tore in half, the evil thing soaring through the air and then shattering into pieces upon the wooden deck right by Ichigo's feet.

Golden mist swirled up from the floor, headed directly for the orangette's throat where it then dissipated into the flesh. The enchantment placed upon Grimmjow instantly faded and he was left clutching his head, pain throbbing in his temples as he'd inwardly been fighting the insidious magic inside him since the night before.

"Grimmjow!" Ichigo called from the opposite end of the ship, his voice now his own once more.

"Ichigo?" the blunette inquired, disbelief coursing through him at hearing _the _voice coming from the boy's mouth. He started for the no longer mute beauty, who was also making his way to him. "You - you can _talk_. You're the one!" Grimmjow declared triumphantly as they came together, hands intertwining.

"Grimmjow, get 'way from 'im!" 'Tensa' yelled, but it was Shiro's distorted, silvery voice that came out and his face twisted in pure wrath.

"It was you the whole time," Grimmjow said, not understanding why he hadn't figured it out before. Ichigo was perfection, that doesn't come along twice in any lifetime, and there was no longer any doubt in his mind that he loved him.

"Oh, Grimm, I- I wanted to tell you," Ichigo confessed, pressing in even closer to the other man. They drew nearer and nearer to each other, eyes falling shut and the orangette's chin tilting upward even as Shirosaki screamed "Grimmjow, no!"

Their lips were the slightest bit away from touching when out of nowhere Ichigo made a strangled noise of pain, eyes rolling back in his head as he sank out of Grimmjow's arms and heavily collapsed to the deck. The human prince stared in total shock as he witnessed his love's clothes tear away for a man-sized fish tail scaled in the blackest ebony with fins a vibrant crimson red to materialize, Ichigo cringing in guilt and shame as his true identity showed itself.

He was devastated, helplessly staring up at Grimmjow and knowing that now his secret was revealed they could never be together.

"HAH! Yer too late!" Shirosaki crowed in delight. "Yer too late!"

If anyone on the ship thought it was the surprise of a lifetime to see Ichigo turn back into a merman, that was nothing compared to how the Sea Demon practically shredded his disguise off, revealing his true form with a tail of china white scales and dark as night fins, his inverted eyes radiating depravity. A blackened wave formed into the shape of a spiked, skull-covered throne and crashed over the railing, flooding the ship's deck to the sound of the screaming guests.

Ichigo didn't stand a chance as he was scooped up bodily by Shiro, the two of them staying aloft before a wild-eyed, infuriated Grimmjow. "So long, loverboy," the demon sneered, crashing back into the sea with his orange-haired, lovely prize wrapped in his arms.

"Ichigo! NO!" they heard Grimmjow roar as they sank deeper into the fathoms of the ocean. Ichigo tried to break free but Shirosaki created iron shackles for his wrists out of nothing, immobilizing his new pet.

"Poor lil' prince," Shiro cooed as they reached the level of the coral reef, stroking the boy's hair tenderly. "Don' worry, I'mma take real good care 'a ya."

"You scum-sucking bastard, my father is going to turn you into fish fry. That is, if I don't do it myself first!" Ichigo swore, bucking away from the advances of the demonic albino whose hands seemed to be everywhere at once. Busy as they were, neither of them noticed another's presence coming upon them.

"Let my son go. _Now_."

"Why, King Isshin! Hahahah, 'ow are ya these days?" Shirosaki greeted, grinning maniacally and refusing to budge an inch on his hold on the king's son.

"I will not say it again, Shirosaki," Isshin commanded with all the authority of the king of the seven seas, his expression making fearsome look mild. Rukia, who'd gone to fetch him in the first place, hovered ten feet or so behind the monarch, her worry and fear almost palpable. "Let him go."

"Not a chance, Isshin!" Shiro scoffed devilishly, snapping his fingers so that the original contract Ichigo had signed unfurled in the open water and displaying the latter's unmistakable signature. "He's mine now. We made a _deal_."

"Dad, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to... I didn't know!" Ichigo tried to explain to his father who didn't look away from Shirosaki for a second. Then the king raised his trident and aimed it directly for the contract, a powerful blast shooting forth at the thing that made the reef around them tremble with the force. And yet, when the beam of light faded the contract was still in perfect condition.

"Ya see? Tha contract's legal, bindin' an' completely unbreakable , even for _yo_u," Shirosaki sneered, laughing in joy by Ichigo's ear. "'A course, I always was a man wit' an eye fer a bargain. Tha son 'a tha great Sea King is a precious commodity, 'specially when 'e got 'is mama's looks. But... I migh' be willin' ta make an exchange fer someone even better..."

Meanwhile, above them on the turbulent ocean surface Grimmjow was furiously rowing a life boat out into the open sea. "Grimmjow, what are you doing?" Aizen called to him from the ship.

"I lost 'im once, Aizen. I'm not gonna lose him again," Grimmjow vowed whilst the sky overhead thickened with heavy, ominous gray clouds.

But down in the depths below, Shirosaki was in the process of making his ultimate goal a reality. "So, do we 'ave a deal?" he asked King Isshin, playing with the links on Ichigo's shackles to egg the old man on. Then, to free his only beloved son from a lifetime of servitude to the twisted demon, despite the imminent consequences, Isshin lifted his trident once more. This time when the ray of light hit the contract it erased Ichigo's signature and replaced it with his own. "Ha! 'S done, then!"

The shackles around the orangette's wrists disappeared and Shiro's golden magic swirled around the king like a vortex that became smaller and smaller as he did. "No!" Ichigo cried out despondently, lowering himself beside the now withered form of his father. "Oh, no... _Dad_..."

"Your Majesty..." Rukia whispered in despair at seeing the powerful king now reduced to something so pitiful.

"A' last... 's _mine_," Shirosaki proclaimed, snatching up the crown encircling the shriveled form of Isshin and placing it atop his head, then snagging the trident as well. His demented cackling triggered something in Ichigo, the teen's brow furrowing as white hot ire burned in his veins at what that hideous freak had done to his father.

"You-... you monster!" he shouted angrily, pouncing on the demon from behind and hooking an arm around the evil being's neck, choking him for about five seconds until he was blasted away by the power of the trident, his back hitting a large rock so hard he lay there stunned for a moment.

"Don' fool wit' me ya lil' brat!" Shirosaki snarled, pointing the trident straight in the other's face, inches away from puncturing the flesh. "Contract 'er no, yer still gonna be _mine _an' if ya step outta line, I'll - AHH!" The Sea Demon screeched as his side was pierced by a whale-hunting dart, the blade sinking in several inches so that dark viscous blood spilled forth from the wound.

Both Shiro and Ichigo glanced up to see Grimmjow swimming above them, he obviously the one who shot the dart, and noticing he had another cocked and ready to go in his hand. "Grimm, look out!" Ichigo called to the blunette as Shirosaki angled the trident toward the man, though he didn't stop at that, again attacking the demon as he attempted to injure the human.

"Getsuga, Tenshou!" Shirosaki sicked his hammerheads on Grimmjow instead and then flung the youth against the rock yet again. "Yer gonna pay fer yer insolence, pet. Now, watch yer lil' boyfrien' get torn ta pieces an' maybe nex' time ya'll think twice 'fore disobeyin' yer master!"

But he had underestimated Grimmjow, who wrestled with the two sharks before thrusting his last dart up through Tenshou's mouth into the head and then tugged it back out. He kicked Getsuga in the nose, a sensitive spot for most sharks, and then drove the bloodied dart into his left eye. Within one minute, both of Shirosaki's adored familiars were dead.

Seeing this, the venomous madness within the Sea Demon's mind exploded, inky black powder darkening the water around him as it shifted and formed to his design, rising higher and closer to the surface swiftly. With Shirosaki distracted, Ichigo swam fast as he could through the black water in search of Grimmjow, spotting familiar boots kicking back and forth straight over him, following their path to the air the man needed.

They both broke through the surface at the same time, not hesitating to grab onto each other as Shiro's throne reached a maximum height of a hundred feet in the air. "Grimm, you've got to get out of here!" Ichigo insisted desperately.

"No, I'm not leaving you!" Grimmjow shouted over the sound of howling winds and torrents of thundering rain.

"Ya pitiful, insignificant fools!" Shiro boomed from his perch high above them.

"Look out!" Grimmjow warned the merman and they separated for a bolt of lightning struck the place they just were.

"Now I'm tha ruler 'a all tha ocean!" Shiro's voice echoed menacingly whilst he twirled the trident around, the waters roiling into tumultuous tides that crashed against each other, creating swells of water fifty feet high. "Tha waves obey my every whim! Tha sea an' all its spoils bow ta _my power!_"

The waves began churning in a miles wide rotation, one of the largest walls of frothy darkness smashed right into Grimmjow and Ichigo, sweeping them away from each other and helpless to stop it. A whirlpool unlike any other swirled around Shirosaki's throne, his manic laughter deafening as he grew madder still with power. He even raised the ghost vessels from Shipwreck Cove to spin round and round like a macabre merry-go-round.

Grimmjow, panicking now that he couldn't see Ichigo anywhere, grabbed onto a stray rope rippling in the fierce wind and managed to shimmy up the frayed, slippery thing onto one of the shipwrecks. Wasting no time, he ran for the wildly spinning splintered wheel and caught it, using all of his strength to hold it steady and steer it toward his only target.

Nevertheless, Ichigo had no idea where the man was and while madly searching for him anywhere in the watery chaos Shirosaki had created but he was soon dragged in by a terrifyingly strong current, sucking him into the whirlpool that drove him in circles straight to the dead center where the ocean floor was exposed.

"Ah, now we can do somethin' really fun, Ichi!" Shiro shouted down at him, lifting his trident to create a little cage for the boy in that spot. "See, I really still wan' ya 'round ta be my pampered, lil' royal pet so ta get rid 'a some 'a tha' _attitude_, how 'bout I keep ya down there fer a month 'er two? Ya'll warm up ta me eventually, angelfish. 'Specially when yer lil' prince is good an' dead. Hah! So much fer _true love_!"

Immediately Shirosaki froze, almost as if he had turned into a statue, but then he moved his head down to look at the ship sternum steered clean through his chest by Grimmjow on one of the shipwrecks. Lightning and thunder crackled and roared, surrounding the fallen Sea Demon as his throne melted back into the ocean, he still perched on it 'till the end.

The sky cleared and the sea softened to its usual gentle waves, the darkness fading as the evil presence had disappeared from this world. On the ocean floor, King Isshin swelled back up to his normal stature as well as all the other poor souls trapped in the demon's cavern. The crown and trident were returned to their rightful owner by Ichigo himself, having swam down to Shirosaki's grave to retrieve them.

And so almost everything was set right.

* * *

The morning came quietly for Ichigo, the sun now once again just a celestial being whose warm rays he wasn't allowed to bathe in and the days just things that would pass by as he'd try to rebuild his treasure cove. His time as a human had come and gone. At least he could say he'd had three practically perfect days with Grimmjow, which he supposed would have to be enough to hold onto for the precious memories they were.

He thought of all this while resting on that same rock by the shore where he'd promised Grimmjow someday he'd be a part of his world. The man was currently lying on his back on the beach, having fallen unconscious, but Ichigo would stay his distance. It was hard just to look at the man he loved so close to him yet an entire world away.

_I'll always love you, Grimmjow, but I just can't be part of your world..._

Further away from the shore in the shallows were King Isshin and Rukia observing Ichigo staring at the human prince he'd fallen for. The tortured look in those brown eyes was truly painful to witness. "He really does love him, doesn't he, Miss Rukia?" Isshin murmured, sighing deeply with a pain only a parent could know.

"Well, it's like I always say, Your Majesty, children have to be free to lead their own lives."

"You _always _say that?" Isshin asked, amusement clear in his voice even as he steeled himself for what he knew he had to do, his decision on the matter concrete. "Then I guess there's just one problem left."

"What's that, Your Majesty?" Rukia questioned, frowning as she recounted everything and was unable to find a loose end she'd left anywhere.

"How much I'm going to miss him."

The king's trident's points dipped into the sea, a shimmering flare of potent magic sparking forth from the golden instrument. It coursed through the water in an undulating beam that drove straight for the merman perched atop the rock, the glittering blaze ascending around his body. Upon discerning what the phenomenon was, Ichigo's illuminated face expressed pure joy as he watched in wonder as he was consumed by the corporeal magic.

Upon the beach, Grimmjow cracked open his bleary, dry eyes only to be met with nothing but a view of the sky at dawn above him and his heart wrenched agonizingly in his chest. However, he lifted himself to sit up straight, rubbing his pounding temples and wincing as a sudden bright, dazzling light beamed along the shoreline. His mouth parting in shock, Grimmjow watched in stunned awe as a figure emerged from out of the sparkling luminescence. Once he took in the luminous halo of honey blossom spikes and the outstretched arms meant for him, the man rushed toward them.

His new pair of legs clad in glittering black pants with ragged scarlet hems, Ichigo ran right into Grimmjow's embrace, the man lifting him by the waist and spinning them around in elation. Then they were face to face, the air around them heavy with the tension of how long they'd waited for this moment, to be with each other in their own world.

Their lips crashed together like the waves upon the beach and at last they shared that kiss of true love.

* * *

_**Caribouandcake A/N: **_Yay, a happy ending~ I absolutely loved writing this and bringing a much loved story back to life with my two favorite men. I hope you all enjoyed it just as much and stick around for our next Disney revamp: _Beauty and the Beast._

**_Toringtino A/N:_ **I have to agree, Aibou - there ain't nothin' like a nice sappy ending to a classic story of true romance. It's been a long time waitin', but the ride was hella fun an' now we can move on to our other all-time favourites~ Yessums.

A big thank you to all our readers out there, an' remember to watch this space - 'cause we ain't done yet! ^^

~**x**~


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